Premier League Launches International Good Causes Programme
Foreign Secretary Underlines Support
The Premier League has today unveiled a programme of international good cause initiatives. British Government Ministers joined British Council Chair Rt Hon Lord Kinnock and the President of the Asian Football Confederation Mohamed bin Hammam to launch the programme, which will see the Premier League take projects to a number of countries in Asia and Africa.
The Premier League has been involved in international football development and charitable giving for many years including advice to overseas leagues and national football associations, coaching clinics and charitable donations. Now, with global interest in the Premier League growing fast, the international good causes programme is to be expanded.
The centrepiece of the expansion is the roll out of the successful Premier Skills coaching project, a partnership between the Premier League and British Council to a number of cities and regions across Africa, India, China and South East Asia. The project has already been piloted in Egypt, India and Uganda.
The week-long courses train aspiring sports coaches and youth leaders to return to their own communities and enhance their existing football sessions, whilst also developing their leadership skills and a greater understanding of the role football can play in tackling other social issues. The ambition is to train 1,000 young adults enabling them to enrich the lives of a further 100,000 young people through football.
In addition to the coaching and community leadership sessions, the British Council is developing English language materials and using football to inspire and capture the interest of millions of English language students worldwide.
The programme drew immediate support from the 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 outlined the reasoning for this new programme: “At home the Premier League and our clubs have a long-held commitment to and reputation for investing in and delivering quality community and education programmes. Given our increasing popularity and success internationally we felt it only right to replicate this approach on a global scale.
“It is important that we use our profile responsibly to encourage and engage communities around the world. The success of our initial Premier Skills pilots shows us the appetite that exists for our support at grassroots level in many countries.
“We aim to combine our resources with the reach and expertise of organisations like the British Council to make a genuine and sustainable difference in countries right around the world.
“Working in partnership with football confederations overseas is a key part of our strategy. We want to make sure that our projects in Asia are being carried out in the right locations and benefitting the right communities and with this in mind we are grateful for the guidance of AFC President Mohamed bin Hammam and his team.
“In addition to the central Premier League International development work, the clubs, many of whom have international development partnerships of their own, see the importance of investing in international good causes. A number of our clubs have well established partnerships with international charities that see the clubs and players use the power of football for good.”
Rt Hon Lord Neil Kinnock, Chair of British Council added his support to the expansion of Premier Skills:
“Premier Skills has imaginatively recognised fluency in English to be an important means of self-development in the globalising world and united two of the world’s most powerful common languages: football and English.
“The British Council believes in the power and potential of sport to improve the lives of individuals in the UK and everywhere else. I am, therefore, proud of Premier Skills as a partnership between the British Council and the Premier League which will enable many young people in several countries to develop their leadership qualities, their English language capability and their sporting prowess.”
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