Premier Skills Programme launched by FFSL
The Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) will partner the English Premier League (EPL) and British Council (BC) to launch a Premier Skills Programme in Sri Lanka. Initial discussions were held with the representatives of FFSL, EPL and BC at the Football House in Colombo to look at avenues on how to develop skills in football and English as a language, of the youngsters in Sri Lanka.
“The initiative which aims to utilize football as a tool to engage with and to develop the skills of young people will be launched in Sri Lanka. This partnership between FFSL, EPL and BC will benefit young footballers in the country which concentrates three important areas,” an FFSL spokesman said.
FFSL officials with EPL and British Council delegates
Accordingly the programme will provide direct training for Sri Lankan coaches and referees from well qualified coaches and trainers provided by the EPL and its affiliated clubs. The programme will also link other community projects run by the EPL. This will enable locals to engage in such similar projects conducted by the ELP in other countries with the aim of building long term relationships with other counterparts aiming at changing lives of thousands of people through football.
“More importantly the programme will generate English language products for teachers and learners, including direct training for teachers, schools, resources and digital content via a dedicated websites,” FFSL stated.
FFSL officials Ranjith Rodrigo, Upali Hewage, Anura de Silva and Kate Hodgekinson, the International Development Manager of EPL were present at the initial discussion. In addition Anoop Kapuwatte and Sanjeevani Munasinghe represented the British Council.
“This Premier Skills Programme not only will attract thousands of football players and officials from Sri Lanka and assist them to develop language skills of English but will also enhance their livelihood and contribute immensely for the development of their lives,” FFSL President Ranjith Rodrigo stated.