Premier Skills has launched its Phase 2 training course in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
International coach development programme, Premier Skills, was led by UEFA-qualified head coach and former Wimbledon star Robbie Earle.
The course saw a week of intensive training for 24 selected community coaches and physical education teachers from Vietnam, Korea and Malaysia and was organised by the Premier League, British Council Vietnam, and the Vietnam Sports Administration at Thanh Long Sport Complex Centre.
Robbie Earle, who has been Head Coach on 10 previous Premier Skills projects, was joined by Everton's Johnnie Garside, a Head Coach in Korea as well as part of the Premier Skills coaching team in Kerala and Malawi. Alongside them was Nicholas Phipps, a community coach for Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, where he is covering all aspects of football work from disability, education and sport development.
Already, Premier Skills has 22 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 on the work 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 coaches.
COMMUNITY PROGRAMMES
Premier Skills Phase 2 Ho Chi Minh City brought together these top 24 grassroots coaches who have demonstrated their ability and commitment to apply what they have learnt by running football coaching programmes in their local communities. This course will build upon the skills and experience the coaches have already developed during the first phase of the programme.
Led by the expertise of the three Premier League coaches, East Asian coaches will strengthen their knowledge and understanding of inclusive community development through football and will become pivotal figures within their organisation, responsible for instigating, designing, developing and implementing community programmes.
In addition, they will cascade their new 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 already been doubled, with an extraordinary 250,000 youngsters involved.
Harnessing the huge global interest in the Premier League, the British Council has created a range of football-based materials, including a dedicated Premier Skills website 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.
SOCIAL INCLUSION
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 a series of activities put up by the British Council Vietnam to contribute to the celebration of the 1000 years of Thanh Long, Hanoi.
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."
