Premier Skills is a partnership which combined the reach of the British Council with the global appeal of the Premier League to engage young people, including disaffected youth, to develop life skills, coach skills and English language skills, through the medium of community-focused football. The programme provided opportunities for coaches, referees and players to become better integrated into their local communities, to develop their skills for employability and raise their self-esteem.Premier Skills currently runs in 29 countries across Asia, Africa and the Americas.
How it worked in Uganda
Community Coaches received custom-made training that was aimed to improve their skills in delivering, inclusive training programmes to benefit their local communities. The coaches then engaged both the communities and children on the street during soccer clinic sessions. Through soccer clinics, football drills were delivered by Coach Educators and Community Coaches who had undergone face- to –face training on Child Protection. These coaches were used to pass on key transformational messages to the children on the street to help them make safer decisions.
What are soccer clinics?
Soccer clinics are interactive football drill sessions designed to improve the children’s basic football skills and address challenging situations in their lives. In these sessions, children also interact with former street children who share their experiences and success journey from the street to fame. At the clinics, children are also fed and have access to legal pro bono serves and interact with child welfare officers attached to police.