Coaching can be a lonely existence and any opportunity for coaches to meet their peers and talk about the challenges they face can prove invaluable in career development. Similarly, young players can benefit enormously from a chance to meet legends of the game and learn from their experiences. Two sets of summits held around the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025™ – which has been expanded to 48 teams and is now being played every year to create more opportunities for young players – have given players and coaches a golden opportunity to share stories and receive educational sessions on important footballing topics, such as the Global Stand Against Racism.

The Player Summit is an inspirational and motivational session bringing the under-17 players from different continents and countries together in one room and share life stories on how to become a professional player. Meanwhile, coaches were able to meet each other and connect with experts from FIFA’s Technical Study Group and FIFA High Performance Specialists at the Coaches and Technical Directors Exchange.

Arsène Wenger, FIFA Chief of Global Football Development, said his own career had taught him about the value of such meetings. "When you coach, sometimes you’re a bit isolated. You have the pressure on your shoulders and you’re a bit lonely in the world," said the former Arsenal, AS Monaco, Nagoya Grampus Eight and AS Nancy coach. "And when I was a young coach, just to meet other people and see that I’m not the only one who suffers and not the only one who is under pressure is very helpful, and to see that others have problems as well."

He said it was also a chance for coaches to develop their technical knowledge. "We can help them as well by giving them the observations we have of the game, by watching all the world and by having the data and analyses of all the world, we can help them as well with what they have to focus on… and they can go home as well with practical knowledge they can use after in a training session in the development of their country and their players."

Fiji coach Sunil Kumar, whose team are participating at the tournament for the first time, said it was an eye-opening experience.

"It's always great to hear from great people and we always look forward so much and look up to Arsène Wenger. We know he has achieved so much and [know] currently he's pushing so much for talent development and giving every talent a chance," he said. "And, I think that is paving (the) way for us small countries to come to a (FIFA) World Cup event. And, at this workshop, it was a great exchange. We got so much knowledge, so much to hear from FIFA, expatriates, (and), at the same time, the other coaches who are here." For many players, the FIFA U-17 World Cup could be the first of many tournaments on the global stage and FIFA wants to make it an unforgettable experience for them.

The players were joined at the Summit by several Legends including Anthony Baffoe, Philippe Senderos, and Hannu Tihinen, as well as Mikaël Silvestre, who led a powerful presentation on behalf of the Player’s Voice Panel on their role in the championing the Global Stand Against Racism. "I think that for them to have examples of players who were in that position before, to tell them what to focus on, and for them to be capable [of exchanging] different experiences in different countries – that is something we can’t afford to miss,” said Mr Wenger. “This helps them to exchange different cultures, different experiences.”

Former Switzerland defender Senderos was more than happy to share his own experiences with the players. "I was fortunate enough to play three (FIFA) World Cups at senior level, and then we had other players who played long careers as professionals and played different tournaments,” he said. “I think that way of sharing our story and giving them a hope and sharing what could happen in a career, I think that was very important, and also connecting with the players, connecting with the teams. I think it’s important to have a feel for how they’re experiencing their first tournament. There are teams like New Caledonia who have travelled across the world, maybe more than 24 hours to travel to Qatar and play in a World Cup, it’s an amazing experience.”