The youth team club and the youth team coach of the year

Kalmar FF’s Club Developer Festim Pasho Named Unicoach of the Year 2024, Malmö FF Awarded Unicoach Club of the Year 2024

The awards are presented within the framework of Unicoach.

In recent years, Festim Pasho, in his role as a club developer at Kalmar FF, has exemplarily shown players and coaches the way forward. For this, he has been named Unicoach of the Year for 2024.

The Unicoach of the Year award has been given annually since 2020 to leaders who have done ambitious and dedicated work in developing young players in their clubs, thus earning recognition. The award is presented by Svensk Elitfotboll and Unibet.

In 2024, the spotlight is on 39-year-old Festim Pasho, who is in his second stint with Kalmar FF. Previously, he served as a youth coordinator, academy coach, and analyst for the club but now works as a club developer.

Among other responsibilities, Festim oversees a regional collaboration project that has steadily expanded and now includes ten clubs in the Kalmar area. The project features weekly training sessions at participating clubs, as well as regular workshops and training programs for coaches.

The motivation for naming Festim Pasho Unicoach of the Year reads:
“Over the past two years, Festim Pasho has worked on Kalmar FF’s Regional Talent Project (RTP), focusing on developing players and coaches in the Kalmar area. Festim and KFF have been role models for other elite clubs in the country by taking responsibility for the football development in their region. Festim’s great dedication and expertise have been instrumental in advancing this project. Therefore, he is named Unicoach of the Year for 2024.”

Malmö FF Named Club of the Year

In 2024, Malmö FF demonstrated the strength of their academy by winning two titles while also giving new talents opportunities in the senior team. Their success and well-structured efforts have earned them the title of Unicoach Club of the Year.

The award, presented by Svensk Elitfotboll and Unibet, recognizes clubs that have excelled in certification and achieved strong results on the sporting front.

Malmö FF checks all the boxes.

The sky blues stand alone with their top-tier seven-star certification. They also secured the SEF Trophy for P15 teams and the U19-level League Cup last year, along with high finishes in other top academy leagues.

Additionally, several young talents made their Allsvenskan debuts, including Nils Zätterström, Kenan Busuladzic, and Zakaria Loukili.

The motivation for naming Malmö FF Unicoach Club of the Year reads:
“Malmö FF continues to develop its academy and, for the third year in a row, remains alone at the highest seven-star level. Furthermore, the club takes significant social responsibility through its school projects across Skåne. MFF’s core values form the foundation of their football education.

The club invests significant resources annually in the academy, benefiting not just the club but also Swedish national teams and other clubs. Each year, players are transferred abroad to bigger leagues. The academy’s focus has been to nurture and develop homegrown talents to reach elite football, prioritizing this over short-term youth results. These reasons make Malmö FF the choice for Unicoach Club of the Year.”

Facts About the Unicoach Awards

The awards are part of the Unicoach network. The jury comprises Thomas Hasselgren and Svante Samuelsson, academy developer and sports director at Svensk Elitfotboll, and David Tezera, sponsorship manager at Unibet.

In addition to Unicoach of the Year and Unicoach Club of the Year, awards were also given for Goalkeeper, Defender, Midfielder, and Forward of the Year.

Previous Winners, Unicoach of the Year: