Premier Skills Programme Return To Nigeria

The hugely successful Premier Skills programme, which uses football as a tool to develop a brighter future for young people around the world, is set for a returns to Lagos and Kano this month.

15 participants from the two states will take part in a Coach Educator Training course to equip them with the knowledge and skills required to run their own community football sessions.

The Coach Educator training programme, which is being jointly organised by the British Council, Premier League and Lagos State Football Association, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Kano State Football Association, Kano State Sports Commission and the Kano State Ministry of Education, will run between 28 January and 1 February.

The five-day intensive course will be led by Premier Skills UK Coach Educators, Graham Robinson and Paul Hughes, who will deliver a combination of classroom-based lessons and on-pitch technical sessions.

The participating grassroots community coaches and physical education teachers will be evaluated as they themselves deliver Premier Skills coaching techniques to thirty untrained Nigerian football coaches and sixty young people from the local community.

Those who successfullyfully run their sessions will become Premier Skills Coach Educators who can go on to train other grass-roots coaches, initiate sustainable social impact around youth engagement, increase female participation in sports and promote child protection, equality, diversity and inclusion.

Kate Hodgkinson, Head of International Relations, Premier League: “Stories like Chinasa’s are the reason why we run the Premier Skills courses. To give people the confidence, knowledge and skills to deliver football provision in their communities not only improves the person but also benefits those in the local area.”