Foundation coaches return to Jakarta
Liverpool FC Foundation community coaches will once again visit Jakarta in Indonesia this week to deliver training with Gocekz Project, the club's charity partner from their 2013 pre-season tour.
Following a first visit of the year to the city in February, this second trip will involve four coaches delivering a programme to 48 trainees to develop their skills and expertise to help support their own local football projects.
The coaches will also deliver various coaching workshops throughout the week and a mini football festival on Saturday with 80 children, with Garuda Indonesia, the club's official training kit partner, kindly providing training kits for all of the participants.
Gocekz is a social inclusion project established through the Barclays Premier League and British Council's international community development programme, Premier Skills, which aims to develop a brighter future for young people around the world using the power of football.
Foundation coaches have been involved with the programme since July 2011, when the club partnered with Gocekz during pre-season and delivered a community-based training session at Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex.
In February, the Foundation conducted a needs analysis of the programme, delivered a football-focused workshop for 28 volunteer coaches and visited one of their projects in Himmata Children's Centre.
Last year, Premier Skills trained 2,300 coaches and referees in 21 countries across Asia, Africa and the Americas, who in turn have reached a further 500,000 young people. By 2016, it aims to train a further 3,000 coaches and referees and through them reach more than 300,000 young people.
Forbes Duff, the Liverpool FC Foundation's international activity manager, said: "It's fantastic to return to Jakarta again to support the Gocekz project alongside Premier Skills and the British Council.
"It's a great project that creates many opportunities for young people to engage in sport, which fits perfectly with our ethos."
Teresa Birks, director of education and society at British Council Indonesia, said: "As well as promoting health and wellbeing, playing sports can help children build self-esteem and confidence and develop social skills that will benefit them throughout their entire lives.
"Through sports participation they learn leadership, team-building and communication skills that will help them in school, their future career and personal relationships.
"The British Council, in partnership with the Premier League and Liverpool Football Club, will continue working with vulnerable and marginalised children in Jakarta until 2016. We are also exploring opportunities to extend the Premier Skills programme to sports teachers in schools and community coaches working with disabled children."