Coach Ilia Sanatkar
Founder & Head Coach, BCL Football Academy
My Story
My journey in football began when I was seven years old. What started as a love for the game quickly became a major part of my life. I began playing on school teams before moving into competitive soccer, joining rep teams and different academies throughout the Toronto area. Along the way, I had the opportunity to attend Barcelona camps and experience different coaching environments that exposed me to different ways of learning and developing as a player.
As I continued playing, football became more than just a sport to me. I wanted to understand the game, improve my abilities, and challenge myself at higher levels. I eventually played semi-professional football in League1 Ontario, an experience that gave me valuable insight into the demands of the game and what it takes to perform at a high level.
At 18, I began my coaching journey. I worked with different academies and had the opportunity to coach players of different ages, abilities, and backgrounds. Every player and every team taught me something new. Over the years, I began to realize that developing a footballer is about much more than teaching techniques or running drills.
I became increasingly focused on one question: How can we help players become better decision-makers?
Football is a constantly changing game. Players have to perceive what is happening, understand their options, make decisions, and execute all in a matter of seconds. I learned that players develop these abilities best when they are placed in environments that challenge them to think, adapt, and solve problems rather than simply repeat predetermined movements.
That realization became the foundation of my coaching philosophy.
In 2023, I founded BCL Football Academy with the goal of creating the type of development environment I believe young footballers need. BCL was created to help players become not only technically capable, but confident, creative, intelligent, and independent on the pitch.
Since then, I have had the opportunity to coach and work with many players, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, personalities, and ambitions. Every player I coach continues to teach me something, and I believe that coaching is a journey of constant learning as much as it is teaching.
BCL is still growing, and so am I.
My goal is to continue developing as a coach, continue learning from the game, and continue creating an environment where players can reach their potential while developing a genuine love for football.
This is the journey behind BCL Football Academy and it is only the beginning.
Our Philosophy
We believe football development is about much more than learning techniques or memorizing patterns of play. Our philosophy is centred around developing players who are confident, creative, intelligent, and capable of making their own decisions on the pitch. We want players to understand why they are doing something, not simply be told what to do. Every player should develop strong technical foundations while learning how to recognize space, solve problems, read the game, and adapt to different situations.
We believe players learn best when training reflects the reality of the game. That means creating environments where players are constantly making decisions, receiving under pressure, combining with teammates, attacking and defending, and experiencing realistic game situations. Rather than relying heavily on repetitive, unopposed drills, We use game-based and opposed activities that challenge players to think and execute at the same time. Our goal is not simply to create players who can perform skills in training, but players who can apply those skills with confidence, creativity, and purpose when the game demands it.
We believe players learn best when they are challenged in realistic, game-like environments. Our training emphasizes technical ability, 1v1 creativity, decision-making, movement, and understanding of the game not simply repeating drills. We encourage players to be brave, take risks, solve problems, and express themselves on the ball.
Most importantly, we want players to develop a genuine love for the game. We aim to create an environment where players are challenged to improve, encouraged to think for themselves, and given the freedom to become their own kind of footballer.
What we believe
Decision-Making Teaching players to read the game and make intelligent choices.
Creativity Giving players the freedom and confidence to express themselves
Game-Based Learning Training in realistic situations that transfer to matches.
Individual Development Developing each player according to their unique strengths and needs.