Alex at the Premier Skills programme in Pretoria
JOBURG - Safa partners with the British Premier League and British Council to develop grassroots soccer.
Alexandra is represented at the Premier Skills soccer programme which began in Pretoria on 12 November and will run until 18 November.
The township is represented by Lebogang Thlako, who is a Level 1 coach educator and a volunteer at Grassroots Soccer. The programme is a global coach and referee development initiative run by the English Premier League and the British Council and supported by the South African Football Association (Safa).
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It provides intensive training for 60 grassroots football coaches and 24 referees by Premier League club coaches. Participants will then be able to use and share their newly acquired skills to develop projects in their own schools and communities.
Through Premier Skills, young people, often including the most vulnerable in society, are given opportunities to become better integrated into their local communities, to develop their skills for employability and to raise their self-esteem, said Premier League lead coach educator Graham Robinson.
Hosted at the High Performance Centre at the University of Pretoria, the course is headed by Robinson and supported by Alex Curran and Steven Bell, community coaches from Middlesbrough FC and Newcastle United FC respectively.
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Local Premier Skills coach educators who completed the programme in 2013 will support the UK coaches on this course. In addition, there will be support from coaches and referees from NGOs such as Footballers 4 Life in Johannesburg; Dlala Ntombazane in Pretoria; Inner-City Ambassadors FC in Hillbrow; Grassroots Soccer in Alexandra; Scout South Africa in Mpumalanga; Leseding Community Project in the North West; and Free State Sports 4 Change in Bloemfontein.
CEO of the Safa Development Agency, Dr Robin Petersen said, “Developing competent coaches at all levels remains a cornerstone of our Vision 2022 Development Plan, and these coaching workshops with Premier Skills play a unique role in this development process.”
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British Council country director, Colm McGivern said, “This training programme reaches to the heart of South African communities and creates opportunities for leaders to develop their capability using sport, and football in particular, to increase their life chances and those they meet and train.”
