- Copa Enel will carry out a digital version of the tournament, focused on providing training tools in youth soccer to the team's coaches that participate in the championship every year.
- Efficient Football, the leading school in online training for professional soccer, developed a master's degree for coaches taught by professionals from important European clubs, such as Athletic Club de Bilbao and even Felix Cao, one of Manuel Pellegrini's current physical trainers at Real Betis.
Santiago, November 18, 2021 – Copa Enel, the most influential children's soccer tournament in Chile, organized and developed in partnership with the Iván Zamorano Foundation, will kick off on its 20th anniversary.
Given the current situation still facing the country due to the coronavirus pandemic, our Company prioritizes safety; therefore, the tournament will not be held on the courts in 2021. However, we wanted to continue the project differently. Thus, as a sort of pre-season championship, the Copa Enel will be played through an initiative aimed at the technical improvement of participating coaches.
“As Enel Generación, we are proud to be part of the development and promotion of youth sports. This year is Copa Enel's 20th anniversary. Even though we have not been able to play in person due to the ongoing pandemic, we wanted to give it continuity by providing this free online master so that coaches of the cup's various teams can improve their skills for training. For the last three versions, this tournament has also had a regional presence. We know that sports talents are in every corner of the country, and we understand how important it is to find and support them, through initiatives such as the Copa Enel”, said James Lee Stancampiano, Enel Generación’s General Manager.
“We celebrate 20 years of this important tournament, which despite the pandemic is still more alive than ever and is preparing for the return to the fields. This year, however, Copa Enel will be different. Thanks to Efficient Football Master, technical directors and delegates of different teams will be able to prepare their players with better tools, raising the level of the tournament and thus preparing for the return of a face-to-face championship. We are proud to continue with this important project because we know how relevant it is to form new talents for national soccer, both technically and in terms of values”, said Iván Zamorano, historical ambassador of Copa Enel.
This is the first digital master's degree for coaches, developed by the No. 1 school in online training for professional development in soccer, "Efficient Football," an institution that aims to improve and facilitate access to high-performance soccer for all. Enel Distribución, through Copa Enel 2021, will provide free training to more than 200 coaches and delegates, offering them a master's degree with micro learning methodology. It includes 15 to 30 minutes classes, allowing students (coaches and representatives of Copa Enel clubs) to improve at their own pace and remotely, through on-demand courses, with relevant figures who are part of other technical staff of important European clubs.
The master's degree will be available to all team teachers participating in Copa Enel. Those from the Metropolitan Region and Biobío Region (Concepción), Maule (San Clemente and Colbún), and Antofagasta (Calama), where the tournament has also been held for the last three years. Classes will address important topics for the training of soccer players, such as sports psychology, nutrition, and technical aspects. With the intention that coaches acquire more knowledge about them and thus, prepare their squads in the best way for the on-site tournament that should occur during 2022.
Over 210 technical directors and 37 delegates of different teams participating in Copa Enel will take more than 125 classes to complete the five modules of the master's program. Therefore, their skills will improve through this program, the first of its kind in Chile, acquiring relevant knowledge to prepare their players.