WHAT A RESULT!
HOW LOCAL GRASSROOTS COACHES WERE GIVEN A PREMIER LEAGUE MASTERCLASS TO HELP INSPIRE THE NEXT GENERATION OF FOOTBALLING TALENT
Grassroots football is the beating heart of football in the UK Laurence Griffin Senior Development Officer, Chelsea FC Foundation International
FOOTBALL fixtures rarely come bigger than a trip to Chelsea FC.
On this occasion, the visitors left the Premier League club celebrating a remarkable result: 11 grassroots coaches from around Britain were invited to the team’s training base at Cobham, Surrey, last month to watch a training session with the men’s first team, led by head coach Frank Lampard.
It included Patrick Murphy from Under 13s Ans tey Nomads, who hopes to take everything he learned from the pros to inspire his team to footballing glory. “As coaches, we all do the same, but have different ways of doing it.”
The event was part of Hyundai UK’s nationwide grassroots initiative Hyundai FC, which supports and develops junior football across the country. Through local Hyundai dealerships’ sponsorship of 11 girls’ and boys’ teams, from Under 8s to Under 15s, Hyundai is able to supply each team with unique football experiences including the chance to play at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium and the provision of Nike training and playing kits
One coach from each club joined the open training to learn from top coaches, watch the first team train and receive priceless tips and presentations from some of the country’s best coaches. Praising the success of Hyundai’s FC initiative, part of the Hyundai For The Fans Campaign, Laurence Griffin, Senior Development Officer at the Chelsea FC Foundation International, said: “Grassroots football is the beating heart of football in the UK. Already we’ve provided hundreds of players and coaches with experiences that will stay with them a lifetime.”