Football coaches taking the Football Association of Wales (FAW) Pro Licence course underwent military-style training to develop leadership skills under pressure. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
Participants included former Arsenal midfielder and Wales captain Aaron Ramsey, ex-Chelsea and Argentina goalkeeper Willy Caballero, Peterborough United boss Luke Williams, and Colwyn Bay manager Michael Wilde. They took part in a two-day intensive exercise.
The training involved explosions, fake blood, and ambush scenarios. Coaches learned to apply tourniquets, rescue hostages, and make decisions in hostile environments.
Matt Johns, founder of Fieri, the company running the course, said: "We've got them tired, they don't know what's going to happen next, they've got a little bit of fear, trepidation. We find different ways of stressing them and then we get to perform, so they learn a lot about themselves."
Other candidates included former US and Roma midfielder Michael Bradley, Champions League winner Florent Malouda, Wales international Will Vaulks, and former US women's international Ella Masar. Masar participated while 36 weeks pregnant, joining in exercises alongside men.
The FAW Pro Licence is described as the "Harvard of football coaching" and counts Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta among its graduates.