JLR China embarks on key initiative for campus football promotion
Jaguar Land Rover, the British premium carmaker, has kicked off a three-year football program in China, leveraging the world-leading training of the Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur to promote football among the youth while enriching their growth with joy of the sport.
Called Jaguar Football Campus, the program was launched at a primary school in Chengdu, Sichuan province last week. It marks the first project in the second phase of the Children & Youth Dream Fund, initiated by Jaguar Land Rover China and the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, while opening the three-year strategic cooperation with Tottenham Hotspur.
The training camp of the program is scheduled to start in October. Based on the philosophy of “train the trainer”, the training will have star coaches from the Spurs to train local physical education teachers so as to better coach local children and the youth.
Besides advanced training concepts, the training will cover skills, physical buildup as well as mental strength and willpower that will prove critical in football matches.
By 2021, the program is expected to benefit at least 120,000 kids across the country, according to Jaguar Land Rover China. Youth football development has been the prime focus of the carmakers’ Dream Fund established in 2014, benefiting more than 80,000 students so far.
The program, responding to China’s call for campus football development, will be “a good attempt to improve training on campus and make the most of physical education while facilitating Sino-British exchanges,” said Tang Jiuhong, an official at the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation.
Anthea Wang, executive vice-president of public relations and corporate communications at Jaguar Land Rover China, noted that “the three-year strategic partnership will significantly help introduce advanced training concepts, deliver professional training sessions and promote the spirit of enjoying football”.
Coaches present at the kickoff ceremony were Ose Aibangbee, who trained Harry Kane, title holder of Golden Boot at the 2018 Russia World Cup, and David Howells, a former midfielder who helped the Hotspur win the FA Cup in 1991.
The star coaches will bring forth the same philosophy adopted at the club’s football academy back in London to children in Chengdu. Aibangbee stressed that the top priority in training youngsters is “to make sure that they have fun and enjoy the sport”.
“The idea for us to get across to the coaches is that football doesn’t have to be the serious kind of sports. Have them challenged but make the challenge fun.”
Impressed by Chinese teachers’ enthusiasm and desire to learn more about coaching football, Howells urged them not to overstress the performance.
“If you get too caught up in drills, statistics and tactics, you will lose the interest of the children. They must always be stimulated and enjoy the sport,” said Howells.
As sports can help cultivate people’s character, it is “one of our intentions that the young can enjoy sports like football that make them strong physically and mentally,” Wang added.
“The Dream Fund does not aim high to change the world. Instead, we are down to earth and hope to cause a ripple in the ocean of the world to get more people involved to help more children and the youth.”
Improving society with an innovative mind has been the goal of Jaguar Land Rover’s corporate social responsibility programs. Meanwhile, the carmaker hopes to turn the CSR into the CSV, with “V” standing for values, so that more people who share the same values will join the efforts.
JLR’s Leapfrog development
In addition to contributing to CSR, Jaguar Land Rover has long been committed to the Chinese market, deepening localization and innovation in China to better serve local customers and the society.
“While maintaining business success, we pay more attention to social development. We will give full play to the advantages of enterprise resources, from multiple dimensions to create more values to the society,” said Pan Qing, member of board of management of Jaguar Land Rover and executive director of Jaguar Land Rover China.
In April, Jaguar Land Rover unveiled a strategy dubbed “Dual Power, Dual Innovation” to further boost its development in its largest market worldwide. “Dual Power” will enable the carmaker to draw on the strength of both its global headquarters in the United Kingdom and its China operations, while “Dual Innovation” means that it will enhance innovative strength by joining hands with top local innovation companies, according to Pan. So far, Jaguar Land Rover offers 15 models under two brands in China, with five localized ones at its plant in Changshu, Jiangsu province.
The Jaguar E-PACE SUV, hitting the market in late August, was the latest addition and fulfilled the carmaker’s promise to localize five models in three years. Jaguar Land Rover has maintained a stable growth in China with a sales of 92,419 units from January to August, up 3 percent year on-year.