Events: Chance to train under a Premier League coach

2009/09/06

THE British Council is offering community coaches from Malaysia the opportunity to work with counterparts from the Premier League in an international project that demonstrates how football can be used to support the development of social inclusion, health promotion, education and equality. Known as Premier Skills, this six-day training course will see Premier League coaches and experts in a variety of fields working with selected community coaches and teachers from around the country with the aim of establishing sustainable football programmes for local communities.

Premier Skills is a partnership project managed jointly by the British Council and the Premier League, and is being run in 15 countries around the world including Egypt, India, Kenya, Korea, Malawi and China.

Recently, Premier Skills was carried out in Kerala, India by former Premier League star Robbie Earle. Earle was assisted by Gareth Hughes, Adam Browne and Jonathan Garside who are Community Coaches from Manchester City, Portsmouth and Everton respectively. All of the coaches involved in Premier Skills are UEFA qualified coaches.

The training in Kuala Lumpur will take place from Oct 19-24 and the course is designed to include practical sessions in the morning and workshops in the afternoon focusing on a range of topics from nutrition to community development.

Once completed, participants known as Premier Skills Community Coaches will return to their respective communities or schools with their new skills and knowledge to support community development through football. Participants will also earn their Level 1 coaching qualification (EPL).

Premier Skills is being run in 15 countries around the world

Four coaches who demonstrate exceptional commitment during the training will be invited to attend a second training course in Vietnam that will further prepare them to train and support other Premier Skills Community Coaches in their country in May.

This project is supported by local agencies such as the Football Association of Malaysia and the Ministry of Education.

Community coaches in Malaysia are invited to apply to participate in this programme held at the National Sports Complex in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur.

An applicant must:

• Be aged between 18 and 35

• Be working in a school and/or community

• Be medically and physically fit

• Be able to attend the full duration of the programme

Applicants need to fill out a form that can be downloaded from www.britishcouncil.org.my

Closing date for applications is Sept 14. For details, visit www.britishcouncil.org.my