Football director receives recognition at Inter-LFA Tournament
Durban Schools Director of Football and Holy Family College teacher Stef Crasso was presented with a FIFA-branded shirt.
Stef Crasso, Director of Football of Durban Schools and Physical Education teacher at Holy Family College, was recently presented with a FIFA-branded shirt by Fran Hilton-Smith, former SAFA Director of Women’s Football and a representative of both CAF and FIFA. The presentation took place during an Inter-LFA tournament in Johannesburg, where Crasso was accompanying Durban schools.
Crasso completed the FIFA Diploma in Football Medicine in 2020. However, due to Covid-19 restrictions, the course was delivered entirely online, preventing participants from engaging directly with the instructors.
During the second phase of the diploma, he further contributed to the FIFA Medical Network by assisting with the translation and grammar of numerous educational modules into English. These modules, presented by European medical specialists, helped make valuable football medicine knowledge more accessible to a wider audience.
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“Prior to doing the course in 2020 I had very little knowledge of Women’s Football as I had been a coach at boys’ schools only and how biological factors can have a huge effect on female athletes’ performance. The modules on running tournaments and preparing teams for tournaments which involves traveling and continuing for longer than one day proved to be invaluable in preparing the Durban Schools teams for their recent LFA tournament in Gauteng as well as The Friendship Cup tournament which has been run by me in Gauteng and KZN since 2017,” Crasso shared.
Crasso is currently developing Sideline Help, an initiative aimed at equipping unemployed university graduates with practical knowledge and skills in the prevention, recognition and management of football-related injuries at youth level.
“Through Sideline Help, Crasso hopes to strengthen medical support within grassroots football while creating potential employment and professional development opportunities for graduates. The project reflects his ongoing commitment to player welfare, youth development and the promotion of safer football environments in schools and communities.
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