Press Relase 11th November 2011

A hugely successful international coach development programme run by the Premier League and the British Council launches a new phase in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province this week.

“Premier Skills Phase 2” will involve intensive training for 30 Korean grassroots football coaches selected from South Korea and will take place from 13 November to the 18 November 2011. The project will be led by head coach Fraser Foster who holds a UEFA A Coaching Licence, and is a former Head of Community at West Bromwich Albion Football Club.  He will be backed up by Alex White and Adam Lea, community coaches from Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth Football Clubs respectively.

Running alongside the coach programme will be a new ‘Introduction to Refereeing’ course, which will focus on teaching community organisations the rules of football. The course is being led by Ray Olivier, the Training and Development Manager for the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the body which supports professional referees in England, and will be assisted by Eddie Wolstenholme, a former Premier League referee This component will run from 11 November to the 13 November.

The courses in Yangpyeong are being jointly organised by the British Council, Premier League, Korea Football Association, MBC Youth Football Foundation, and Korea Football Association for the Disabled, who will launch the Premier Skills Phase 2 programme on 13 November at the Yangpyeong Mirinae Camp. This will also celebrate the completion of the referee course.

Premier Skills has already successfully run in 23 different centres in 16 countries worldwide. In Asia training courses have already taken place in China, India, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Premier Skills has achieved huge impact under the first stage of the programme, with 1,000 coaches trained, nearly 300,000 young people reached, and over one million football-focused English language materials distributed globally.

Premier Skills Phase 2 Yangpyeong re-unites sports coaches who have already demonstrated their ability and commitment in Phase 1 of the programme. This new component will enable them to apply what they have learnt by running football coaching programmes in their own local communities.

Led by the expertise of the three Premier League coaches, the Korean coaches will strengthen their knowledge and understanding of inclusive community development through football. As a result they will become pivotal figures within their organisation and community, responsible for implementing community programmes. In addition they will cascade their community coaching skills to others involved in their programmes, leading to sustainability of the Premier Skills in Korea. Equally, the community referees will benefit from the expertise of the Premier League referee coaches and allow them to develop new skills in developing and managing community football projects.

Harnessing the huge global interest in the Premier League, the British Council has created a range of football-based materials that include a dedicated Premier Skills website www.britishcouncil.org/premierskills . This website features downloadable resources for teachers and learners, and the first components of a Premier Skills self-access schools pack, providing materials for teachers and learners of English. These will enable people around the world to develop and build upon their English language skills.

The resources also use the motivational power of football to develop classroom materials that allow teachers and learners to explore key social issues such as health and social inclusion.

Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore said:

“At home the Premier League and our Clubs have a long-held commitment and reputation for delivering high quality community and education programmes. Given our popularity and success internationally we felt it only right to take this approach to a wider community.

“Premier Skills has already taken place in 16 countries, developing 1,000 new coaches all over the world. These coaches have already delivered work that has benefited a further 300,000 young people. Phase 2 of the project, which launches in South Korea this week, will build on these achievements, further developing the skills of some of the most promising coaches that we have worked with.”

British Council Chief Executive Martin Davidson said:

“Our purpose is to connect people in the UK to people in other countries and football is a great way to do that. We are therefore proud of Premier Skills, our partnership with the Premier League, and I am delighted that the second phase of this unique project, which combines English and football – two truly universal languages –, is being launched in Korea.

“Phase two will build on the excellent work already done in Korea and around the world, giving the coaches further skills to use in their communities in developing community action projects, as well as providing an entirely new referee coaching element that will provide young referees with quality community-focused referee training.”

Lead Referee Ray Olivier said:

“I am really looking forward to getting involved in Premier Skills in South Korea. It has clearly had a huge impact on football coaching all over the world, developing over 1,000 new coaches in 16 different countries. It is exciting to now be heading up this new referee element to the project, starting in Korea.

“Referees are a key part of football at any level it is played. Through Premier Skills we plan to encourage a new generation of referees to get into the game, making a lasting contribution to Korean football.”

-ENDS-