Kick-starting new skills
Premier Skills draws upon the UK Premier League’s global appeal and expertise in delivering community programmes, alongside the British Council’s track record of delivery and world class expertise in English.
The British Council, in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, organises face-to-face training for coaches and referees, using highly skilled coaches and referee trainers from the Premier League and its clubs. The participants are then supported in developing their own community-focused football projects.
Through Premier Skills, young people, including the most vulnerable in society, are given opportunities to become better integrated into their local communities, to develop their skills for employability and raise their self-esteem.
The Premier Skills programme was launched in 2007 and has managed to engage over 20,000 coaches and referees from 29 countries since then, who in turn have provided training that has positively affected the lives of over 1.6 million young people around the world.
Premier Skills currently operates in 19 countries and has reached a total of 80,000 children in Egypt.
Football is a teacher
Premier Skills concentrates on three core areas:
- Premier League club coaches provide face-to-face training for grassroots coaches and referees, giving them the skills and support to develop their own community football projects.
- The programme works with local partners to set up and support community projects that address specific needs and engage marginalised or at risk youth through regular football sessions.
- Teachers and learners of English are provided with a range of football-based learning materials, accessed through face-to-face training and digitally, including a dedicated website.
Reaching young Egyptians
The Premier Skills programme in Egypt focuses on empowering women and girls through coach educator training and community development. Nearly half of the community coaches who have taken part in our Phase 1 training courses, run between 2013 and 2016, were women, whilst over 60 per cent of child participants were female.
To follow this successful delivery, the Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports partnered with Premier Skills to launch the project “1000 girls; 1000 dreams” which aims to engage 1000 girls, aged 12 to 14, in football training centres in eight governorates in Upper Egypt.
Alex Lambert, the Acting Country Director of the British Council in Egypt, said: “Football is a great way to build cultural bridges between countries and we are very proud to be able to offer young Egyptians the chance to learn from one of the most exciting football leagues in the world, the Premier League, through Premier Skills.
“Egypt is one of our most successful Premier Skills countries in terms of results, and we are keen on including women and children in sports and leadership activities in the hope of changing perceptions and creating a more inclusive society.”
Tim Vine, Director of International Relations at the Premier League said: “This course demonstrates the impact and reach of Premier Skills in Egypt and underlines the Premier League’s desire to help develop the grassroots of the game in the country.”
More information
Visit the Premier Skills website for football-related games, stories, videos and exercises designed to improve English skills.