Jaguar football Open Day can help kids realize their goals

By Zhuan Ti (China Daily) Updated: 2014-07-16 07:09

Bob Grace, regional president of Jaguar Land Rover Greater China, delivers his speech on the Open Day. CHINA DAILY

"This is the first time I've played on a big pitch like this," said Wang Xiaolong, an excited student from a school for the children of migrant workers. "They are spending a lot of time training us so we know what to do right and improve how we play."

The young student was just one of the many participants to join Jaguar Land Rover China as the company kicked off its first Jaguar Football Public Open Day on July 14, continuing the exhilaration of the World Cup just a few hours after the thrilling final.

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Some 400 guests, including around 300 energetic local children, were able to get onto the pitches and experience the fun of football for themselves in friendly matches that took place amid a festive carnival atmosphere. Half the children are from schools for migrant worker's children.

The event is just one of many planned for the Jaguar China Youth Football Development Initiative, part of the company's ambitious CSR programs under the Jaguar Land Rover China Children and Youth Dream Fund, supported by respected NGO partner, the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation.

The initiative will help raise the bar for sports in China, creating new football pitches across the country and getting more people out playing football, and giving structured coaching to school children, including sending a group of students to the United Kingdom for professional training and cultural exchanges with British students.

Over the course of three years, the different football programs are expected to benefit around 30,000 young people across China.

"This is a fantastic turnout, with great enthusiasm from the kids, and we're looking forward to more Open Days in the metropolitan centers of Beijing, Guangzhou, and Chengdu," said Bob Grace, regional president of Jaguar Land Rover Greater China.

"Young people will be creating tomorrow's China, so by building healthy bodies and improving their character with a sense of fair play, respect, leadership, and discipline, we are giving them the tools to realize their own goals in life, as they inspire our dreams for a better future."

Word about the Open Day was spread through multiple channels, including mass and social media, dealer groups, customers, and schools, resulting in a very diverse group of people attending the event.