To the sound of fanfares and football rattles, the British Council and English Premier League ‘Premier Skills’ project kicked off at a launch at the British Embassy in Cairo on the Monday 19 March. The project is a collaborative pilot for the British Council and English Premier League and is supported in Egypt by the National Sports Council and sponsored by British Airways and Carlson Wagonlit.
The project brings together young people from across Egypt with the aim of developing football coaching skills, English language and life skills as a vehicle for personal and community development. The project has an important equality and social inclusion element and caters for boys and girls with different levels of ability.
A ‘typical day’ for the participants consisted of tactics and skills training in the morning at the Shooting Club, Dokki, followed by a healthy lunch at the British Council. In the afternoon, participants attended English classes and workshops on life skills addressing such issues as social inclusion, fair play and child protection; then one more coaching skills session in the late afternoon.

At the closing ceremony we posed questions to find out what people had gained from the experience:

‘I am going to apply what I learned in my field which is working with children with special needs’. Mohamed Farid Abdel Fattah, the Right to Live Association.

‘I feel I am so lucky to have been given this opportunity at this early age, 17 years old, I can do a lot with the knowledge I gained…I intend to pass on this knowledge to other people to benefit as I have done.  I want to continue working on my English because my dream is to become a coach or a professional player with the English Premier League’. Mohamed Hassanein Lebda.

‘I was very impressed with the coaches’ organisation and time-keeping. They knew exactly what they were doing. Their preparation and spot-on commitment were really inspiring.  This made everything so easy for participants even those who had never experienced football coaching before.  I hope we can build a network of young Premier Skills coaches and continue learning’. Mohamed El Barawany – Menoufia.

‘A lot of experience – a lot of friends – a lot of fun.  It was an excellent week made possible by the students.  The enthusiasm, the commitment, their willingness to work made our job a lot easier…The way we were looked after in Egypt was fantastic so the next scheme has got a lot to follow… the standards have been set very high by the Egyptian people’. Warren Barton- Premier League Coach.

‘The highlight was the confidence the young coaches had…especially the women.  On the first day some of the women almost didn’t dare look you in the eye but by the end of the week they were coaching men and telling them what to do and instructing them’. Robbie Earle, Lead Premier League Coach.

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