At the Faculty of Applied Sciences (FCA), initiatives aimed at developing sports coaches have broadened the University's international presence and consolidated collaborative networks with academic institutions and sports organizations around the world.
The actions mainly involve the training of coach developersProfessionals responsible for training sports coaches. Although in Brazil the main pathway to becoming a coach is a degree in Physical Education or Sports Science, in many countries this training occurs through sports federations or, in some cases, does not yet exist in a structured way. In this context, the training of professionals capable of qualifying coaches becomes strategic for strengthening the educational role of sport.
In 2016, FCA faculty member Larissa Rafaela Galatti was selected to join the Nippon Coach Developer Academy (NCDA), an international academy based at Nippon Sport Science University and affiliated with the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE). The initiative was created as part of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic legacy and brings together experts from different countries to train leaders focused on the development of sports coaches.
Based on this experience, the researcher began working as a trainer of coach developers in international programs promoted by NCDA, participating in the 2019/2020, 2020/2021 and, more recently, the 2025/2026 editions. The activities involved professionals from various parts of the world and also extended to regional actions, such as collaboration in the training of the first class of coach developers from Paraguay, in 2024.
In Africa, the work was carried out in partnership with the ZAMcoach360 academy, supported by NCDA and ICCE, bringing together participants from Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi in 2019 and 2024. Furthermore, the professor is a member of the ICCE scientific committee, contributing to the production of knowledge on the development of sports coaches.
The second area of focus emerged from these international experiences and resulted in a partnership between FCA/Unicamp and the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB). The research agreement was created to develop and investigate a specific program for the training of female sports coaches in high-performance sports, an area still marked by significant gender inequalities.
This initiative gave rise to MIRA, a program focused on developing female coaches with the potential to work in high-performance competitions, especially the Olympic Games. The training, currently also being investigated in a doctoral project conducted with the approval of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB), has achieved international recognition and has been highlighted by the International Olympic Committee as one of the world's best practices in the field.
The international recognition of the program has broadened Unicamp's dialogue with universities and sports organizations from different countries, including Japan, India, Australia, and Germany, interested in learning about the experience developed in Brazil.
