Press release 3 July 2009

PREMIER LEAGUE AND BRITISH COUNCIL LAUNCH FOOTBALL COACHING AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROJECT IN SHANGHAI

On June 10, 2009, the China State General Administration of Sports and the Ministry of Education jointly launched a 10-year nationwide plan to support football for teenagers through the National Youth Campus Football programme.

In line with this plan, Premier Skills, an innovative football coaching and English language development project jointly run by the Premier League and the British Council (operating in east China as the Cultural and Education Section of the British Consulate-General), will launch the football training portion of the programme in Shanghai today to support physical education teachers in local primary and secondary schools with their football coaching knowledge and skills.

Launched in 2007, Premier Skills is a worldwide project operating in 15 countries. Established in China this year, the training project is held in four cities — Dalian, Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong.

Shanghai’s session of Premier Skills is held in partnership with the Shanghai Students Activities Administration Center of the Shanghai Education Commission. Paul Hughes, Social Inclusion and Projects Manager at Reading Football Club, will work with a number of physical education teachers from 42 primary and secondary schools in Shanghai, from both urban and rural areas.

This unique football coaching project begins on July 4, with a six-day training session at the Oriental Land. Forty-four physical education teachers will learn about leadership, coaching skills, fitness, nutrition and sporting-event management. The project strongly accords with current education trends in China and focuses on "whole student" development.

Many footballers on the national team are from Shanghai, and the city is one of the key football bases. The Premier Skills programme sets Shanghai as the project hub for the China region. In the second phase of the programme, five trained teachers from each city will be selected to visit Shanghai around summer 2010 for a higher-level training programme.

In addition to coaching, the project also provides a website for teachers and students of English from secondary schools in Shanghai, combining interest in football with learning English. This dedicated website is a sustainable platform for teachers and students to share their ideas and to continue their language development after the project.

Premier League Chief Executive, Richard Scudamore said:

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

“It is clear to us that there is significant interest in football — and the Barclays Premier League– in China. Working with an organisation with the reputation the British Council has, we intend to use this interest in our competition to help develop the core skills of local PE and English-language teachers.”

British Council Chair, Lord Kinnock, said:

“This is a truly exciting, creative initiative. Football transcends race and language among people everywhere. By putting the British Council’s experience and global network together with the Premier League’s great know-how, we can reach countless young people and help to enhance their skills on the pitch, their self-development, and their understanding of other cultures.”