FDS-WBA in Finland

Our philosophy is: Develop the person, build a player. This means developing players off the pitch as well as on it.

This starts with enjoyment and continues through professional coaching, feedback, care and an individualised approach. Our teams are merely a vehicle to help us develop players as individuals.

Our schools are organised in partnership with Finnish clubs, with each club deciding how to organise its own school. Schools can be mixed, although some are specifically for boys or girls.

Many schools take players of all levels, while some concentrate on those that want to forge a career as professionals.

The focus is on having fun, but we also make sure that the more able players are challenged. All our coaches are English, which helps the players develop their English language skills as well as their football. This is a real help for even the youngest children, who might be just eight years old.

Above all, our coaches always bring enthusiasm, passion, variety and a real English football approach to the schools.

The most talented players can step up to the next level. This consists of training camps for selected players.

Camps take place throughout the year, across Finland. The selection criteria are similar to those in England: technical ability, game understanding, athleticism and, most importantly, attitude, personality and mentality.

The camps offer more specific and serious coaching to develop players on and off the pitch. We set the players the same professional standards we expect of English boys and focus on all parts of the game.

We have run attacking camps, defending camps, mentality camps, physical testing camps and tournament camps. All help players prepare for playing at the higher level of our programme and develop them as individuals.

Players that show the right mentality and ability in training camps are invited to join our FDS-WBA Suomi teams/squads.

These squads, which include Finnish and English boys, play in tournaments in Finland and across Europe. This gives players the chance to make friends with English boys and improve their English, as well as helping them mature off the pitch.

During these tournaments, they compete against some or Europe’s top clubs and best players. This is a great experience, which gives them confidence of playing at such a level and introduces them to travel.

All tournaments are for coaches and players only. This is so that the boys take responsibility for themselves and work closely with the coaches, focusing only on football, the team and the challenge of playing to their maximum.

Typically, players are invited to participate in tournaments in Finland (Kokkola Cup, Eremenko Cup, Ajax Cup) before they take on an elite tour. This gives them experience of how our teams play and makes the step up easier.

We also invite players to England so they can experience English football first-hand. This also gives them the chance to impress English professional clubs.

We also offer Finnish clubs the opportunity to come to England for matches, training sessions, stadium tours, Premier League and other professional matches.

We work closely with the clubs to plan trips that meet their individual requirements. Typically, trips will be for groups of 15 to 32 players and coaches. We arrange all transport, accommodation, food, leisure activities, sessions, matches, tickets, shopping, etc. All the club has to do is organise the flights.

We also arrange trips for Finnish coaches to come and experience the English game. While in England, they get the chance to see what goes on in English academies and how this relates to their own work in Finland.

Much like the Finnish club visits, the groups we cater for can be from 15 to 32 people. Again, we organise everything except flights.

We work as consultants to a number of clubs, groups and schools in Finland.

Continuous immersion in the FDS environment has a big impact on players, making sure they maintain our expectations and standards.

This also helps coaches in these organisations/clubs get to know our methods, through workshops, Q&A sessions and work on the training pitch.

To find out more, email finland@developmentschools.co.uk.