PREMIER SKILLS PHASE 2 KICKS OFF IN HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM

The hugely successful international coach development programme Premier Skills launches its Phase 2 training course in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam this week. Premier Skills Phase 2 Ho Chi Minh City will be led by head coach and former Premier League player Robbie Earl.

The course will take place from 10th to 15th May 2010 for a week of intensive training for 24 selected community coaches and physical education teachers from all over Vietnam, Korea and Malaysia.

The course will be jointly organised by The British Council Vietnam, Premier League and the Vietnam Sports Administration at Thanh Long Sport Complex Centre.

Robbie Earle, who has been Head Coach on ten previous Premier Skills project will be joint by Everton’s Johnnie Garside, who was a Head Coach in Korea as well as part of the Premier Skills coaching team in Kerala and Malawi. They will be joined by Nicholas Phipps, a community coach for Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, where he is covering all aspects of football work from disability, education and sport development.  

Premier Skills has already successfully run in 22 different centres in 15 countries worldwide. In East Asia, initial Phase 1 training courses have taken place in Vietnam, Korea and Malaysia. During Phase 1 courses over 40 young male and female coaches were trained in each of the countries.

Following the Phase 1 programme over 120 coaches from the countries represented in Ho Chi Minh City worked in their respective communities 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 Ho Chi Minh City 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 local communities. This course in Ho Chi Minh City 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, who have all coached at Premier Skills Phase 1 courses, the East Asian coaches will strengthen their knowledge and understanding of inclusive community development through football and as a result will become pivotal figures within their organisation and community, responsible for instigating, designing, developing and implementing community programmes. In addition, they will cascade their community coaching skills to others involved in their programmes, leading to sustainability of the programme in their countries.  

Premier Skills has already trained 1,000 young adults 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 doubled, with an extraordinary 200,000 youngsters involved.

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  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. 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.

The Premier Skills Phase 2 Ho Chi Minh City will be among series of activities put up by the British Council Vietnam to contribute to the celebration of the 1000 years of Thang Long, Hanoi.

The programme has drawn support from the UK Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon David Miliband MP, who said:

“I firmly support the use of football as a force for development of skills. The Premier Skills project is a shining example of what can be achieved when we combine the knowledge and networks of organisations such as the Premier League and British Council, with the talent and energy of young people and community organisations overseas.”

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 250,000 young people. Phase 2 of the project here in Ho Chi Minh City 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 Ho Chi Minh City.

“Phase two will build on the excellent work already done in Vietnam and East Asia, giving the coaches further skills to use in their communities in developing community action projects. In addition to community 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.”