Sponsorship News

Samsung offers junior soccer stars the chance to learn with Chelsea Football Club

Samsung, the official sponsor of Chelsea Football Club (Chelsea FC), has given a select group of children from a range of different football clubs across Sydney a rare opportunity to train with some of the world’s best youth football coaches at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre.

Around 200 children aged 9 – 13 yrs were put through their paces over the course of the weekend by some of the world’s best youth football coaches brought in from the international circuit, who ran a series of skills stations designed to help refine control, shooting, dribbling, heading and passing skills, among other activities.

Parents and coaches watched the action unfold from the sidelines as the young football fanatics embraced the opportunity to broaden and strengthen their football skills under the guidance of their Chelsea FC mentors.

One of the local football club team coordinators said, “So many of our players are Chelsea FC fans, and to watch them pull on the blue Chelsea FC uniforms and train with these exceptionally talented youth football coaches, I know this is an experience they’ll never forget, they certainly haven’t stopped raving about it”.

Samsung also extended the exclusive invitation to 16 ‘children and youth at risk’ from Sydney-based charity The Girls & Boys Brigade, whose philosophy of nurturing children and youth through recreation, education and development programs made them a natural choice for the training clinic.

The Samsung-Chelsea FC Youth Football Camp was developed as part of Samsung’s long standing support of football at both a premier and grassroots level, and 2012 marks the first year the program has visited Australia.

“We’ve had a fantastic day teaching these young footballers about ‘The Chelsea Way’ and sharpening their talent ahead of the 2012 season. We’ve also enjoyed learning a bit about Australian culture along the way and are hoping we’ll be able to come back soon” said Chelsea FC Youth Football Coach David Monk.

The 200 children were selected from local football clubs including Northbridge, Ryde, Chatswood, Rouse Hill, Maroubra, Gladesville, Marrickville, Bankstown, Blacktown, Hornsby, Marconi, Belmore, Mosman, Mt Druitt, St John Bosco, Kenthurst & District and Sutherland. They all enjoyed a boost to their pre-season training program as they took part in the training clinic over the course of the weekend.

“Facilitating an engaging connection between one of Samsung’s huge global sponsorship properties within our local community is very important to us. Allowing kid’s to have the chance to be inspired and share their passion for soccer with coaching sessions from a legendary club such as Chelsea aligns with our desire to ignite inspirational performances within us all” said Samsung Corporate Communications Manager, Jai Sanderson.

Australia is one of only nine countries that the Samsung-Chelsea FC Youth Football Camp will visit this year, with Ghana, Ivory Coast, Vietnam and Malaysia already completed, and Singapore, UAE, Qatar and India still to come.

The four Chelsea FC youth football coaches visiting Australia are Christopher Woodward, Samuel Hubert, James Lambdon and David Monk.