What’s the story?
In his recent talks with the media, Jeremy Weeks, the Head Coach of Premier Skills Education Programme, revealed that Premier League matches may soon take place in India. This comes as a huge boost to the booming football industry in the country.
The context
The Premier League established the Premier Skills Education Programme in 2007, in collaboration with the Sports Authority of India and the British Council. Jeremy Weeks has been working with them since 2009.
Since its inception, the programme has travelled to 28 countries. It currently operates in 19 countries from Afghanistan to Zambia across continents. There have been 7,600 coaches and referees that have impacted more than 1.2 million children and young athletes through the Premier Skills programme.
The heart of the matter
Jeremy Weeks is of the opinion that there is immense scope for football in the country and he is impressed by how passionate people feel towards it. The trainees have been consistent with their eagerness to learn under the coaching methods, according to him. He has observed the constant need to be better, the potential among the trainees along with their sheer enthusiasm for the league and its coaches and that has made quite an impression on him.
Stoked after England’s qualification for the FIFA U-17 World Cup that is to be held in India later this year, he went on to say that the day is not far when India will be hosting Premier League Matches. If it does happen, it will significantly shift the football scene in the country to greater heights.
Premier Skills has been running a highly successful programme in India within communities in the grassroots, in collaboration with the AIFF, ISL and SAI. Their impact includes training 400 coaches, who in turn have been able to reach out to 20,000 youngsters since the commencement of the programme.
Having centred its efforts on coach training and building a coaching community, the programme believes that coaches constitute the foundation of a game.
What’s next?
The successful execution of the FIFA U-17 World Cup will play a very important role in projecting India as a potential ground for further events, including the Premier League.
The programme is most likely to spearhead the movement to further boost the success. By 2019, they are looking to produce 50 master trainees.
Author’s take
The striking growth in the football sector in India comes as no surprise considering the benchmarks that have been created in the last few seasons, and the sports fraternity’s commitment to its growth. And if the Premier League is hosted in the country, it will prove to be a catalyst for Indian football.
