The wonders of Premier Skills

CAN football be used as a tool to develop a brighter future for young people?
Well, Premier League and the British Council have been partners in promoting the hugely successful Premier Skills programme aimed to do that, and more.
In commemoration of its 10th year of delivery in Malaysia, the working partners organised a Premier Skills Quality Assurance session. The aim of the event was to provide "tools and resources" to the young - women, girls and marginalised groups included - inline with its objective to promote positive inclusion.
Since its inception in Malaysia, Premier Skills have been helping young people develop brighter futures. Through the programme, over 200 community coaches have been trained.
There is great benefit in this programme where participants not only gain knowledge in football and pass this on via building strong coaching networks.
Those who participate, including the most vulnerable in society, gain confidence and are given opportunities to become better integrated within their local communities.
They also develop skills for employability and enhance their self-esteem. Underlying merits like these are among many other positive effects of participation.
Said British Council Malaysia director Sarah Deverall, "Premier Skills has launched a strong coaching network that continues to work with diverse stakeholders to take forward the programme sustainably in Malaysia."
And it surely has as the Quality Assurance session here in KL saw Premier League Coach Educator Paul Hughes, a UK-based football coach, present Premier Skills Malaysia, which has nurtured five Coach Educators so far.
One of the five, Patrick Loo shared that the Premier Skills Quality Assurance programme has substantially helped him increase the effectiveness of his delivery of Premier Skills.
"Premier Skills Malaysia has gone from strength-to-strength. It's great to see that a decade on from our first community coaching course here, that there's been a noticeable positive impact on coaches who have taken their learnings and grown sustainable local football networks," added Premier League Head of International Relations Kate Hodgkinson.
Since Premier Skills first began in 2007, 21,891 coaches and referees have been trained in 29 countries. They in turn, have reached out to over 1.6 million young people.
The five coaches her in Malaysia are accredited to deliver the "Introduction to Community Coaching" course and spread its positive effects across Malaysia.
For more on Premier Skills, visit www.britishcouncil.org/society/sport/current-programmes/premier-skills; for details on the football-focused English content and to view the materials online, visit https://premierskills.britishcouncil.org/; and for information on the range of community projects in UK and abroad, visit http://review.premierleague.com

Caption: (From left)