1. 11. 2024
On Thursday, October 31, the FAČR organized the first of a series of panel discussions for journalists entitled “Representation in the sports concept of the FAČR”. The FAČR chairman Petr Fousek, FAČR technical director Erich Brabec, and Miroslav Beránek, head coach of the FAČR representation section, explained the association’s work in this area to media representatives.
You can play the recording of the discussion below the article.
The trio of representatives of the association explained the strategic goals of FAČR in the field of representation from the youngest categories to the “A” teams of men and women. They explained the financing of national teams, working with players, coordination between individual teams, organizing events…
For example, what was said in the discussion?
Petr Fousek: “The national team is our flagship. We have twenty-three teams, which is not always the case, because the most attention is logically focused on the men’s A team. The goal of youth national teams is not only to achieve results and advance to the final championships, but to educate players for higher categories. Representation constitutes a substantial part of the FAČR budget. The youth national teams, women’s, futsal and beach soccer have an annual budget of approximately 137 million crowns, the costs of the A’s and the 21st team are also in this amount, i.e. approximately 250 million crowns. In years when there is a World or European Championship, it can be even more.
Erich Brabec: “Football as a representative of the state is one of the points of our football strategy, which is part of the FAČR Strategic Plan 2023-2027. Cooperation with clubs is the alpha and omega. It is important for us to select and nurture players with potential for ‘A’ teams, which are the top of the pyramid. At the European Under-21 Championship in 2023, there were seven players who were then in the squad for EURO 2024. The last time a generation of players from the European Under-21 Championship was so successful was in 2000 and 2002. So we can see progress in this direction.”
Miroslav Beránek: “There are more factors for evaluating youth teams. Results are decisive for me. Successful youth teams and players are also successful in higher categories. They have a much greater chance of, for example, moving to better clubs in the Czech Republic and abroad. Education for adult football is a priority for us.”
Petr Fousek: “We try to fight for every final championship. Not in all categories do we have a record like my A’s team, which advanced to the EURO eight times in a row, and only a few countries in Europe can boast such a record. Every participation should be valued. The organization of the final tournaments is related to the topic of football diplomacy, and one of the pillars in this area is the bringing of football events of a sporting and non-sporting nature to the Czech Republic. We have organized a number of tournaments, the finals of the European Conference League… We have plans, but the competition is great, so I wouldn’t want to reveal the cards yet. However, in addition to events such as the UEFA Executive Committee meeting, which we hosted this year, we also want to bid for the organization of championships.”
Miroslav Beránek: “We want to set the game principles by which youth national teams should play. We are trying to make them play identically – to set certain principles in offensive and defensive. The biggest pain in Czech football is playing full defense, that’s why we don’t only face strong opponents, but we also have to play against weaker teams in order to learn it.
Erich Brabec: “Every week there is at least one meeting of the national team coaches. We discuss individual players, but also the principles that Míra Beránek requires from them. The model he set up is functional. Then, when the coaching staff changes, we try to choose coaches who fit into this mosaic.”
Petr Fousek: “All twenty-three representative teams have a sufficient number of events. We strive both for quantity, even if it means financial demands, and also for the confrontation to be varied. This means that we play with strong, medium and weaker opponents. The national teams also attend training camps.”
Erich Brabec: “I recently asked all the national team coaches how they perceived the year 2024 from the point of view of preparation. If the quality and quantity of matches were sufficient. They agreed in unison that they were happy with the setup at the moment. But of course we know you can always move. We also strive for this in the creation of conditions that we provide to players and implementation teams. The players come to the meeting and are used to a certain service from the top clubs. We have to maintain the same level, whether it concerns the youth or the top teams. We are also at the level of the men’s teams with the women’s national teams.”
Watch a recording of the entire discussion:
