British Council launches Premier Skills Project in South Africa
Premier League will be developing soccer youth in South Africa.
“SKILLS development will be done in three areas of the soccer players in South Africa,” said British Council Director Colm McGivern at the launch of the Premier League Skills Project.
The South African Football Association (SAFA), the Premier League as well as the British have launched this project on Monday March 17.
The event took place in Soweto’s Nike Football Stadium.
The skills development initiative will run from March 17 to 23 at the centre.
“For the next three years some 80 players per coaching session and coaches will have access to the Premier League in order to enhance their skills,” said McGivern, “We are also committed to training children in the long run. This is the first time that we are doing the skills training in South Africa, but we have done training for some years now in other parts of the world.”
Premier Skills uses football to develop a brighter future for young people around the world, drawing upon the global appeal of the Premier League and its expertise in delivering community programmes in the UK, alongside the British Council’s global network and track record of delivery.
The course in Johannesburg is being jointly organised by the British Council, Premier League and the South African Football Association (SAFA). The Premier Skills course in South Africa also includes associated partners from non-governmental organisations such as Grassroots Soccer, Sports for Social Change Network, Skills Share South Africa, Football Foundation South Africa, Girls and Football and the Boys and Girls Club.
The Premier Skills project in South Africa will be led by Head coach Graham Robinson, a senior coach at Sunderland AFC. He will be supported by Michael Havelock, Rebecca Shipp and Samantha Workman, community coaches from Sunderland AFC and Hull FC respectively.
The British Council will be looking at skills development in 25 countries by 2016. In addition to coaching, a range of free materials, including a dedicated website have been created under Premier Skills for teachers and learners of English, who utilise exciting Premier League content and the British Council’s world-class expertise in English.
