PREMIER SKILLS PHASE 2 KICKS OFF IN SHANGHAI, CHINA

The hugely successful international football coaching development programme Premier Skills launches its Phase 2 training course in Shanghai, China this week. Premier Skills Phase 2 Shanghai will be led by Head Coach Paul Hughes from Reading Football Club.

The course will take place from 7th to 12th July 2010 for a week of intensive training for 24 selected physical education teachers from Shanghai, Beijing, Dalian and Hong Kong.

Premier Skills Phase 2 Shanghai will be jointly organised by the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy, the Premier League and the Shanghai Football Union, and will take place at Shanghai University.

Paul Hughes, who has been Head Coach on a number of previous Premier Skills projects, including the phase 1 training course in Shanghai, will be joined by Tony Tilbrook from Tottenham Hotspur, who was part of the coaching team in the Phase 1 training course in Beijing and Fraser Foster, a UEFA ‘A’ qualified coach who has worked at a number of English clubs including most recently as Community Director at West Bromwich Albion.

Premier Skills has already successfully run in 22 different centres in 15 countries worldwide. In China, initial Phase 1 training courses have taken place in Beijing, Dalian, Hong Kong and Shanghai. During Phase 1 courses over 40 physical education teachers from primary and secondary schools were trained in each of the cities.

Following the Phase 1 programme over 160 coaches from the cities represented in Shanghai worked in their respective schools and then were asked to complete a case study write-up on the work that they were doing. A panel comprising the Premier Skills teams at the Premier League and the British Council evaluated the case studies and shortlisted 24 of these coaches.

Premier Skills Phase 2 Shanghai brings together these top 24 grassroots sports coaches who have already demonstrated their ability and commitment to apply what they have learnt by running football coaching programmes in their own schools. This course in Shanghai will build upon the skills and experience that the coaches have already developed during the first phase of the programme.

Led by the expertise of the three Premier League coaches, the teachers will strengthen their knowledge and understanding of inclusive development through football and as a result will become pivotal figures within their schools, responsible for instigating, designing, developing and implementing programmes. In addition, they will cascade their coaching skills to others involved in their programmes, leading to sustainability of the programme in their city and surrounding area.  

Premier Skills has already trained 1,000 coaches around the globe. The project had an initial aim that those participants involved in Phase 1 would subsequently go on to work with 100,000 young people. Evaluation shows that these targets have not only been met but almost trebled, with nearly 300,000 youngsters involved.

In addition to the coaching, harnessing the huge global interest in the Premier League, the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy has created a range of football-based materials that include a dedicated Premier Skills website www.britishcouncil.org/premierskills, which 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.

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 taken place in 15 countries, developing 1,000 new coaches all over the world. These coaches have already delivered work that has benefited a further 270,000 young people. Phase 2 of the project here in Shanghai 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 Shanghai.

“Phase two will build on the excellent work already done in China, giving the teachers further skills to use in their schools in developing action projects. In addition to football coaching, the Premier Skills website and teaching materials gives millions of learners and teachers around the world an opportunity to improve their English and learn more about their favourite Premier League teams and players.”