Premier League – Football News India

Neil Taylor Picks up Player Award at the third Asian Football Awards (AFA)

November 20, 2015 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

Wales and Premier League star wins prestigious award

Aditi Chauhan, the West Ham United Ladies FC and India national goalkeeper, won the Woman in Football Award
Swansea City FC and Wales defender Neil Taylor picked up the Player Award at the third Asian Football Awards (AFA) in a glittering ceremony at Wembley Stadium on Thursday evening.
Taylor overcame a challenge from Wolverhampton Wanderers FC captain Danny Batth and the West Bromwich Albion FC and England U17 striker Adil Nabi, currently on loan at Delhi Dynamos FC in the Indian Premier League.
As well as cementing his place as a regular in Swansea’s defence, the 26-year-old Taylor will be off to Euro 2016 next year after helping Wales qualify for a major tournament for the first time since the 1958 World Cup.
Taylor, whose mother is from Kolkata in India, also won the award in 2013.
He said: “It’s a great feeling to win this award. I am pleased to be here tonight to pick it up, it means a lot to me. Hopefully Asian football flourishes throughout the years.My advice to any young aspiring player is to sacrifice. You have to be willing to sacrifice and
follow your own path of where you want to go, where you want to be and what you want to
achieve. You also need to have people who are willing to go on that journey with you.
Whatever background you are from, it doesn’t matter. You can make it to the top. Hopefully this can inspire the next generation of footballers.”
The judging panel for the awards included ex-England internationals Jermain Defoe, Graeme Le Saux and Steve Coppell, and Asian Football Awards founder Baljit Rihal said: “Our vision has constantly been to support the growth of Asians in football in the UK. Since our inaugural event in 2012, the media attention and support from all across the industry has been encouraging. “I can proudly say that the Asian Football Awards has been, and will continue to be, a significant platform to inspire more Asians into every aspect of the game.
“However, there is still much work to be done, as progress in increasing representation across the industry has been far too slow.more…“Our hope is that these awards will once again raise the Asians in football debate in the mainstream media and that influential organisations make an intensive effort to help rectify this longstanding imbalance.”
Aston Villa defender Easah Suliman, who recently represented England at the Under-17 World Cup in Chile, was named AFA Young Player. Two years ago Suliman became the first player with Pakistani heritage to captain an England representative side.
He said: “I feel very honoured and privileged to be here at such a great event. Neil Taylor is a massive inspiration for what he has achieved with Wales and Swansea. If I can emulate him I will have a decent career.”
South Korean star Ji So-yun, who plays for Chelsea Ladies in the Women’s Super League,
claimed the South East Asian Award ahead of Southampton’s Maya Yoshida and Swansea’s KiSung-Yueng.
Gurjit Singh, from Kidderminster Harriers, was the winner of the Non-League Award, while Aditi Chauhan, the West Ham United Ladies FC and India national goalkeeper, won the Woman in Football Award.

Premier Skills Phase 2 training kicks off in India

November 7, 2015 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

The second phase of the hugely successful Premier Skills initiative, run by the Premier League and the British Council will take place from 2 to 7 November 2015 in Thiruvananthapuram, Keralaat Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education (LNCPE).

Premier Skills is a partnership between the Premier League and the British Council. It uses football as a tool to help develop both community coaching and English language skills. The programme trains sports coaches, referees and youth leaders, enhancing their existing football skills, whilst also developing their leadership skills and a greater understanding of the role football can play in tackling other social issues.

In November 2014, for the Phase 1 training, coaches and referees of the Premier Skills Kolkata Goalz programme, belonging to Kerala Football Association, Goa Football Association, Sports Authority of India, and three NGOs, were trained at Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education (LNCPE), Kerala. Phase 2 consists of two training programmes: Coach Education (2 – 7 November 2015) and Referee Development (2 – 4 November 2015). The coach education programme will be attended by 36 Indian coaches and 24 Indian referees will participate in the referee programme. These coaches and referees (from Goa and Kerala) have been chosen from the Phase 1 participants.

During the programme, the coaches and referees will receive training from qualified Premier Skills coaches, giving them the skills and support to develop their own community football projects and development as referees and coaches. The coaches’ training programme will be led by experienced Premier Skills Head Coach Jeremy Weeks supported by Robert Perret, Sports Development Manager with Crystal Palace FC Foundation and Cheryl Edwards, Community Coach at Aston Villa Football Club. The referee training programme will be led by Graham Laws, Referee Coach at Professional Game Match Officials Limited supported by Michael Edward Murphy, Assistant Referee Coach.

The training will end with a demonstration of skills that the coaches and referees have learnt over the course of the programme. This will be showcased on Friday 6 November and Sunday 7 November, at SAI, LNCPE, Thiruvananthapuram.

The course in Thiruvananthapuram is being jointly organised by the British Council and Premier League in association with Sports Authority of India (SAI), Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education, All India Football Federation (AIFF), Kerala Football Association (KFA) and Goa Football Association (GFA).

In addition to coaching, a range of free materials, including a dedicated website, has been created under Premier Skills for teachers and learners of English that utilise exciting Premier League content and the British Council’s world-class expertise in English.

Premier League Executive Chairman, Richard Scudamore, said:

“I am thrilled that Premier Skills will return to India this week for Phase 2 of the project. In the UK, Premier League clubs have a long-held commitment to investing in and supporting local community and education programmes and that is now being mirrored internationally, with Premier Skills operating in 25 countries. Given the increasing interest in football in India we are proud to support the country’s growing enthusiasm for the sport by providing more highly trained coaches and referees to pass on their expertise through Premier Skills.”

Mei-kwei Barker, Director, British Council South India said

“We are delighted to present Premier Skills, Phase 2 training programme, our very successful partnership project with the Premier League in South India. It combines English and football, two universal languages and with the support of our local partners in India — Sports Authority of India (SAI), Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education, All India Football Federation (AIFF), Kerala Football Association (KFA) and Goa Football Association (GFA) — we have been able to provide this opportunity. As part of Phase 2 training, the Coach Education and Referee Development programmes will be attended by successful coaches and referees from Phase 1 of the project. We hope the coaches and referees find this training useful and are able to make the most impact in their respective communities”.

The Programme

Coach Education Programme: 2 – 7 November 2015

The Coach Education curriculum aims to develop a group of local master trainers at the end of the programme. It will help to develop community coach skills and knowledge. The training will be in three parts, over 18 – 24 months and involves attendance at and graduation from each part of the training. There will be learning and practical tasks that must be completed between each of the training. Those that are successful will need to demonstrate continued progress throughout the 3 Phases and with the tasks that they will be asked to complete between the training phases. Successful Phase 3 Graduates will become Premier Skills Coach Educators – and they will have an opportunity to train and develop new Premier Skills Community Coaches to support the work of their organisation.

Referee Development programme: 2 – 4 November 2014

The Referee Development programme is a two phase programme which offers participants an introduction to refereeing at grassroots level. Participants include referees that are already working in community football programmes but who have received minimal or no formal training to improve their refereeing skills and knowledge.

For more on Premier Skills visit http://www.britishcouncil.org/society/sport/current-programmes/premier-skills.

Premier Skills programme concludes in Kerala

December 3, 2014 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

The hugely successful Premier Skills initiative, run by the Premier League and the British Council launched at 10 AM on Monday, 24^th November 2014 at SAI LNCPE concluded with a Grand Community Football Festival. Premier Skills is a partnership between the British Council and Premier League.

The course in Thiruvananthapuram was jointly organised by the British Council and Premier League in association with Sports Authority of India (SAI), Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education (LNCPE), All India Football Federation (AIFF), Kerala Football Association (KFA) and Goa Football Association (GFA) from 24^th to 30^th November 2014. The participants in the programme have been selected from the Football associations as well as from a number of NGOs, including Special Olympics, Cequin, Oscar Foundation and World Vision.

The Coaches and referees have got opportunity to train themselves from qualified Premier Skills coaches, got the skills and support to develop their own community football projects and development as referees. The UK referee trainers held a referee symposium event on 27^th November. The Symposium provided the opportunity for the Premier Skills referees to experience the knowledge and understanding from national referees, referee instructors and the premier skills coaches to further enhance their knowledge and learning. The Symposium was a mixture of presentations on laws of the game, recognizing foul challenges, handball, player management and mass confrontation. The participants were fully involved in the very interactive symposium and also provided an opportunity to share knowledge and best practice ideas.

The Training programme was followed by a Football Festival with the participation of Children between the age group of 10 – 12. 100 children of participated in the community football festival on 30-11-2014.

The following were the luminaries and faculties imparted knowledge to the participants.

Mr. Jermy Weeks has the expertise in Coaching Community and Academy departments of Exeter City FC. He was the Head Soccer Coach at Lake Owego Sports Camp in Pennsylvania, USA. Jez Weeks joined Fulham FC and worked for Fulham FC Foundation as Sports Development Officer in London Area. He was also coaching for the Academy and Girl’s Centre of Excellence and has become the Acting Sports Development Manager in 2009 managing all the football, sport and health related development projects across London and Surrey. Jez joined the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committee where he was the Paralympic Football Competition Manager. He was involved in the Olympic Football competition across the UK and Olympic Park.

In Premier Skills Programme he is involved in the development of the syllabus for Premier Skills Phase 2 and currently runs his own Sports Consultancy Company called W 10 and provides on-going support to the development of the premier Skills Programme.

Corinne Mitchel is currently a Coach Educator at the Girls Centre of Excellence and work with all coaches and players from the age of 9-17. She currently hold a UEFA B in coaching football and have a PTLLs award in tutoring adults. She has participated in the FA Women’s Mentoring Scheme also and holds UEFA A License.

Mr. Daniel Landstorm is a graduate in Science and Football at Liverpool John Mores University. He has achieved UEFA B Coaching qualification and gained experience of coaching around the world working in countries such as the USA, Sudan, China and Abu Dhabi. Now he is engaged in the role of Football and Multi Sport Manager overseeing all aspects of community football including Disability Sports, School Sports, Women and Girls Football and Premier League4Sport

Mr. Daniel Slaughter is currently managing five regional disability football centre of excellence programmes for FA and Tottenham Hotspur Foundation. He has engaged in managed a team of coaches and developing a technical coaching programme working from the same beliefs as the Tottenhjam Hotspur Academy and England Disability Playing/Coaching philosophies. He hold UEFA B Licence, FA Youth Modules One and two and working his FA Youth Coaching Award.

Kelvin Chee is a Learning and Development Consultant and Trainer. He is a man with a vision to impact the children in his community using football. He is a Coach Educator in Malaysia with Level I Certification from Premier Skills. He is now serving as a Volunteer Coach for Matrix Community Football Club in Tman Sea Petaling Jaya.

To find out more about the football-focused English content and to view the materials online, visit http://premierskills.britishcouncil.org/

British Council’s Premier Skills Program Kicks off in Kerala

November 25, 2014 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

The hugely successful Premier Skills initiative, run by the Premier League and the British Council was launched on Monday 24 November 2014 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.

Premier Skills will take place from 24 to 30 November 2014. The training will be held at Sports Authority of India Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education, Kariavattom P.O.; Thiruvananthapuram 695581, Kerala.

This is the first phase of a three-phase training programme for coaches and two-phase training programme for referees in Thiruvananthapuram.

Premier Skills is a partnership between the British Council and the Premier League. It uses football as a tool to help develop both community coaching and English language skills. The programme trains sports coaches, referees and youth leaders to return to their own communities and enhance their existing football sessions, whilst also developing their leadership skills and a greater understanding of the role football can play in tackling other social issues.

The coach education programme will be led by head coach Jeremy Weeks, who was a senior coach at Fulham FC till May 2011 which he left to join the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committee (LOCOG) where he was the Paralympic Football Competition Manager. He will be supported by Corinne Mitchell, community coach from Aston Villa Football Club, Daniel Landstrom from City in the Community Foundation of Manchester City Football Club, Daniel Slaughter, Inclusion Development Manager at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and Kelvin Chee a Premier Skills community coach educator from Malaysia.

The referee development programme will be led by Ray Olivier, Training & Development Manager for the Professional Game Match Officials and responsible for the training and development of Premier League and Football League referees and Assistant Referees in England. He will be supported by Keren Barratt, Select Group Referee Manager for the Professional Game Match Officials.

Participants in the programme have been selected from the Football associations as well as from a number of NGO’s, including Special Olympics, Cequin, Oscar Foundation and World Vision.

The coaches and referees will receive training from qualified Premier Skills coaches, giving them the skills and support to develop their own community football projects and development as referees.

In addition to the training, the UK referee trainers will hold a referee symposium event on 27 November.

As of 2013, Premier Skills has trained 2,500 coaches and referees in 25 countries across Asia, Africa and the Americas, who in turn have reached a further 550,000 young people. By 2016 it aims to train a further 3,000 coaches and referees and through them reach more than 300,000 young people.

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 that utilise exciting Premier League content and the British Council’s world-class expertise in English.

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 internationally we felt it only right to take this approach to a wider community.

“Premier Skills has already taken place in 25 countries, including in India where we have run coach development projects in Delhi and Kolkata and are heavily involved in the ground-breaking Kolkata Goalz project, which has over 1,000 young people involved a week in its activities. I am thrilled that we are now rolling Premier Skills rolling out in India this week.”

Ms Mei-kwei Barker, Director, British Council South India said, “We are delighted to introduce Premier Skills, our very successful partnership project with the Premier League, to South India. It combines English and football, two universal languages and with the support of our local partners in India — Sports Authority of India (SAI), Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education, All India Football Federation (AIFF), Kerala Football Association (KFA) and Goa Football Association (GFA) — we have been able to provide this opportunity. We hope the coaches and referees find this training useful and we are able to bring more such programmes here over the next few years.”

The Programme

Coach Education Programme: 24 – 30 November 2014

Referee Development programme: 24 – 26 November 2014

Referee symposium: 27 November 2014

The symposium will be a mixture of interactive presentations designed to provide a modern update in both referee and assistant referee skills. The sessions will also be helpful for instructors and assessors to use the material for further developing their referees in their communities. Included in the presentations will be looking at the following training topics:

Critical Incidents and Communication
Recognising Foul Challenges
Offside Situations and Interpretation
Positioning & Movement
Referee & Assistant Referee Cooperation

To find out more about the football-focused English content and to view the materials online, visit http://premierskills.britishcouncil.org/

Crystal Palace Tie up with Mumbai City FC

November 25, 2014 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

English Premier League club Crystal Palace has tied up with Mumbai ISL franchise Mumbai City FC. Mumbai City FC along with Star Sports and Crystal Palace will stage a trial on thursday December 11th for 16-19 years olds in Mumbai.

12 players selected from this trial will be invited to perform their skills at the Barclays Premier League’s international fan park in Mumbai where live Premier League matches are to be screened.

A Crystal Palace delegation, led by club ambassador Mark Bright, will be assessing the selected footballers and the winner of the Play for Palace will travel to London to train with Crystal Palace’s young prospects.

Mark Bright who has scored more than 100 goals for Palace was quoted saying,

“This will be the chance of a lifetime. The winner of the competition will get a fantastic experience playing at the Academy and then go back to India to become an ambassador for Palace.

“This is a unique initiative. Everyone has a favourite local team and favourite overseas team – we want football fans in India to follow us.

“We know cricket is the number one sport in India, but football is global and it would be great to see an Indian-born player in the Premier League one day. They would become an idol and an inspiration”.

Crystal Palace chief executive Phil Alexander was quoted in the media saying, “We are very excited to be going to India to show ourselves to a new army of fans. The Premier League is booming in India and it’s a great chance for us to extend the club’s reach”.

A Mumbai City FC spokesman is also quoted in the reports. He said : “India,and Mumbai in particular, has a lot of football talent waiting to be harnessed and promoted. This initiative will provide a great platform for the youth of the city to showcase their skills and win the opportunity of a lifetime”.

Indian Super League partners with English Premier League

June 22, 2014 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

According to a report in PTI today, the upcoming Indian Super League has has entered into a strategic partnership with the English Premier League, the world’s most popular and successful football league, to bring its best practices to India under an exchange programme.

Through the alliance, Indian Super League will help Premier League and its clubs in staging football matches and assist in other business development initiatives in India.

Here are a few excerpts from the PTI report :

Richard Scudamore, chief executive of the Premier League, said, “Having earlier this year signed a mutual co-operation agreement with the Asian Football Confederation, we are very pleased to also enter into this partnership with ISL. This will see both organisations work together and share knowledge in several key areas including player development, refereeing, marketing and promotion.

“We know from our broadcast partner Star India, and our work with AIFF on our long-established grassroots football project Premier Skills that we run in several locations across India, that the popularity of football, and Premier League, is growing. There is a further opportunity to develop the sport as a result of that increased interest and we hope to continue to make a real contribution to all levels of Indian football.”

IMG-Reliance chairperson Nita Ambani said, “Partnering with Premier League brings credence to ISL and to our vision of popularizing the sport in India. I am confident the tie-up will immensely help in nurturing and establishing ISL with good governance and best practices. The alliance also presents a great opportunity of partnership and cross promotions between the ISL League Partners and Premier League Clubs.”

Jeff Slack, senior vice-president, IMG, Global Football Development, said, “The ability to leverage the Premier League’s experience in creating a successful league model for both players and fans will be a tremendous value to the Indian Super League as it continues to grow the sport in India.”

Uday Shankar, CEO, Star India said, “The partnership puts belief in our Star’s sports philosophy ‘Believe’. From a game that hobbled about on the fringes of Indian sports, there’s promise that this partnership will lift and reinvigorate football. Through this tie-up, Star India will cross promote coverage of ISL and Premier League to the growing base of Indian football followers.”

AIFF president Praful Patel said, “The AIFF is extremely pleased to be a part of the strategic partnership between the EPL and ISL. This is an outstanding opportunity for ISL to build from the very best in the business when it comes to running a highly successful league.”

Kerala FA to tie-up with British Council and Premier League

February 12, 2014 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

According to reports in Malayalam media, Kerala Football Association is all set to tie up with British Council and Premier League. Premier League and British Council representatives will conduct talks with Kerala FA starting on February 14th.

This alliance will pave way towards social commitments through football says KFA. Premier League London International development manager Kate Hodgkinson, British Council representative Sophie Patterson, Society of India British Council head Dr. Guru Gujral will conduct talks with Kerala Football Association on this regard.

Representatives from British Council and Premier League will also visit Janaseva Sishu Bhavan, Aluva FA, Maradu FA and FA Kochi as part of this engagement. This tie-up will enable Kerala FA to seek assistance from coaches from Britain to train players and coaches in Kerala. British Council’s programmes will be utilized to help financial backward children in the state.

West Bromwich Albion Looking for Indian Sponsors

January 21, 2014 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

English Premier League side West Bromwich Albion are in talks with some leading Indian companies after their current sponsor decided to pull the plug in the wake of striker Nicolas Anelka’s controversial racism-linked goal celebration in an EPL match.

Albion, a mid-table EPL side, will have to find a new sponsor after London-based property company ‘Zoopla’ decided not to renew their two-year USD 3 million sponsorship deal which runs till the end of current season over Anelka’s ‘quenelle’ gesture which some say is an inverted Nazi salute and has anti-Semitic connotations.

Albion Sales and Marketing Director Adrian Wright said at the sidelines of an event here that he would meet some top corporates in the country for a possible deal for the main sponsor of the club.

“We are going to meet some top corporate houses in India which have shown interest in becoming a sponsor. It’s in a preliminary stage but if an Indian company becomes our sponsor it would be a great development for us. We are going to meet them before we fly out in Saturday,” Wright said.

“If it happens the name of an Indian company will be seen for the first time on the jersey of an EPL club during Premier League matches,” he said after the launch of its ‘Pass It Forward’ grassroot international coaching programme in India.

It is learnt that the corporates Albion are going to meet include Airtel, Reliance, Tata and JCB and the meetings have been arranged through the FICCI and CII.

A meeting with Reliance company assumes significance as Albion are reportedly interested in buying a franchisee of Indian Super League proposed to be organised by IMG-Reliance in September.

West Bromwich may be interested in having an Indian company as main sponsor as it has a large Asian population in its surroundings. West Bromwich town is located just a few kilometres from Birmingham, which is Britain’s one of the most Asian populated cities.

Wright even went to the extent of saying that the first team of West Bromwich Albion may plan to play exhibition matches in India in the coming years.

“I am surprised that such a beautiful stadium (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium) has not been used much for football matches. I know Bayern Munich played here (in Bhaichung Bhuitia’s farewell match in 2012) but the current pitch is not good for top-class football. I am told a new pitch will be laid. If that is done, our first team may play here in near future,” Wright said.

Under its ‘Pass It Forward’ programme, Albion would send FA (Football Association of England) qualified coaches to train Indian youngsters from all walks of life, including from the deprived sections of society. The club also plans to hold a Youth Football League and Street Football Leagues in India.

Albion have joined forces with Youth Football International, a coaching organisation based here.

“‘Pass it Forward’ coaching sessions will be held at schools and in some of New Delhi’s most deprived areas during the week-long trip. Under the programme, we will send coaches to India to train youngsters six times a year,” Wright said.

“It is a long-term programme for five-six years initially. In each trip, the coaching programme will be conducted from seven to 10 days. We will come back in March and then may be in August or September. We will not come in peak summer months,” he said.

“We don’t have any international coaching programme in other countries. This is the only one we have outside UK. We want to have a long-term relationship with Indian football.”

Gareth Conte of the YFI said promising players from among the selected Indian youngsters will be trained at the academy in West Bromwich Albion.

“Our coaching approach will be different. Around 30 per cent of youngsters will be from among deprived sections of society. We want to bring changes in their lives through football. The best among the youngsters will be trained in our academy. Who knows some of them may play for India in 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup which India is hosting,” Conte said.

He said the club also plans to spread out in other Indian cities later on.

“As of now, our focus is in New Delhi. But we are hoping that in the next five-six years, we want to spread out in around 50 Indian towns and cities. We want to help in raising the profile of Indian football,” he said.

Source : PTI

Manchester City to Hold Football Clinics in India

November 28, 2013 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

Manchester City FC football coaching clinics, a grassroots program for young children that aims at improving their technical football skills, will take place in the Capital from December 1 to 8.

The clinics will also include coaching on positioning, dribbling, passing and shooting the ball and will be conducted in a fun atmosphere with emphasis on teamwork and interacting with the coaches to benefit from their vast knowledge.

This is the first joint initiative taken by Etihad Airways and equity alliance partner, Jet Airways, since the transaction for the purchase of 24 per cent of Jet Airways by Etihad Airways was concluded on November 20.

This is Etihad Airways’ first coaching initiative to be held in India aiming to promote sport among the Indian youth.

Etihad Airways is the main partner and shirt sponsor of Manchester City FC and has hosted several football clinics in Abu Dhabi as well as in China, Seychelles and Nigeria.

A coaching team headed by Manchester City’s Community Ambassador Alex Williams MBE, an ex-professional goalkeeper with the club, will visit Mumbai and Delhi to lead 11 training sessions for up to 1,000 children.

The week-long activities will kick off in Mumbai with mall promotions at High Street Phoenix, Lower Parel followed by a four-day coaching program in Mumbai.

The team will then travel to Delhi where they will deliver a similar grassroots coaching program and conclude with a major promotion at the DLF Emporio Mall, Vasant Kunj.

Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways chief commercial officer said: “Etihad Airways has a proud tradition of hosting grass roots sporting events globally and we are very excited to be bringing our Manchester City FC football clinics to India to celebrate the completion of our partnership with our equity partner Jet Airways.”

Gaurang Shetty, Senior VP, Commercial, Jet Airways said: “We recognise our responsibility to society and stand committed to creating more such opportunities for the development of Indian youth by way of the programs we conduct.”

Source : PTI