Youth soccer program connects Beijing school students with EPL

Richard Shore, Acting Regional President Jaguar Land Rover Greater China, and Tang Jiuhong, Director CSCLF Funds Department, kick-off the final. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Never in their wildest dreams would players from Beijing's Tongzhou Yunhe Primary School imagine one day they could watch a live English Primer League soccer match in the United Kingdom.

Thanks to the Premier Skills, a youth soccer promotion program initiated by UK automobile manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover, students from the eastern Beijing primary school will be able to travel to the UK in September to attend various soccer exchange activities with their British counterparts and to watch a live EPL match as the winning squad of the final of the PS campus tournament.

The squad from Tongzhou Yunhe Primary School was among 20 primary schools in Beijing taking part in school-based training sessions and the inter-school tournament, which kicked off on July 13.

Players from another finalist team of Tsinghua University Primary School will also be invited to the UK for interactive and entertaining soccer exchange activities as well as community soccer exploration tours.

It's been the second year on JLR's committee to help youth soccer development in China since it established the Jaguar Land Rover China Children & Youth Dream Fund last May. Through the fund, the company supports development of children and youth in four areas including Sports for All, Road Safety and Social Care.

At the first anniversary of the fund on May 28, a coach training session was held in Beijing as the start of this year's event, which saw physical education teachers from 20 participating schools learn youth training expertise from visiting British coach Paul Hughes, who has trained players at EPL level.