Vicente Pinloc, FIFA envoy for talent identification and promotion in Guatemala

The Spaniard, who worked for six years at Villarreal, is responsible for FIFA's talent development program in Guatemala.

Guatemala City – Guatemala is one of 25 countries doing so FIFA He chose to implement FIFA Talent Development Program (dissolved solids)who drives Arsene Wenger, Global Football Development Director.

The person responsible for working on the project in the country is the Spaniard Vincent Pinlock, 29 years old, worked for six years in the basic forces of Villarreal. It now works to identify talent at the national level in boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 15 and then prepare them and place them in the competition.

Benlock will be in the country for two years to put the program into effect. Its goal is for the project children to reach the under-17 category ready to show their abilities in competition. currently, There are more than 50 boys and girls participating in the operation and training at Fedefut CAR.

“Our goal is to create a strong project at youth football level, above all, ahead of the U-15 process. What FIFA is promoting is a project that involves younger players from the U-15 national team, where we start training with them in a way that makes them ready for the U-15, U-17 and U-20 selection processes.

The Spaniard began his work since October of last year. “In the last third of 2023, our goal was to get to know the whole country, to go inland and see the different realities we could find in the East, the West and the Petén region. We will divide the country into four regions, Each section went into a vertical and in that vertical we could analyze the level of the players.

From there, a working group was formed that we began working with in January on Guatemala City. We will continue to identify talent in March, June and again in December, four times this year to continue to see and get to know the players.

There is talent

Vicent Pinloc discovered a talent in Guatemala: boys and girls with interesting characteristics. “He's that burned player you say here in Guatemala. He's a street player, likes to have the ball at his feet, and likes to interact a lot with the ball. At the level of the training structure, we see that it needs the most assistance. “Seeing the players in the match is not the same as seeing them in training.”

The program seeks to identify talents and, essentially, educate them to prepare them for professionalism. “What we are aiming for with the training approach that comes from FIFA is to start from the game, which is the football competition itself. Everything we will create in practice will be things similar to what can be found later in the game. Everything we want to propose will revolve around competing in matches.”

“This project is organized at the international level. Last year there were 7 pilot projects in different consortia and this year they are being implemented in 25 countries. It is an organized project, with a solid foundation, and what we want to do is not only implement what FIFA wants, but also understand the specificities of each country, and the game model that it has, to add positive things.

Two-year project

The European coach will spend two years in Guatemala. “Our intention is clear. Ultimately what we want is to leave a sustainable legacy. Our main point is to go to the training part with the younger players. The project is divided into three axes: identifying talent, training with talent, and the third: competing with talent. In the union, the possibilities of competition are already being suggested.

“In terms of identification, what we want is for all players from the under-15 generations to be controlled. As these players grow, we will have control over these players and that these players are already on their way to high-performance training.

“Our legacy has to go there. He added: “We know where the players are, where they are playing, and when they arrive, they are ready for training.”

For the project, they divided the year into four quarters. At the beginning of the course, talent will be identified and worked with throughout the quarter. The group already training in the Central African Republic will go out to compete in divisions starting in April and May so that the players seen in the regions have the opportunity to grow. Every three months there will be a possibility to integrate new players.