Chelsea Soccer School arrives in the Philippines!

L-R: Angel Motomal, Senior Brand Manager, Gatorade; James Younghusband; Paul Kam, Chelsea Soccer School-Hong Kong; Cathy Nazareno-Rivilla, Executive Director, TYFA; and Phil Younghusband.

Chelsea Soccer School arrives in the Philippines!

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The opening of the Chelsea Soccer School Philippines got a massive show of support when Paul Kam and Dave Stewart of Chelsea Soccer School Hong Kong arrived to help kick off the grassroots development program beginning with a press conference held at the GroupM office at the Fort.

GroupM is the office of the sports activation arm of Gatorade, one of the sponsors of the Chelsea Soccer School and Younghusband Football Academy.

“I think that international football has changed so much through the years that you see Asians and Africans playing in many of the major leagues in the world,” pointed out Stewart who has also coached in the United States. “The idea here is to grow players and teach them the Chelsea style of football. I’m not going to discount the possibility of a Filipino player playing in Europe or somewhere else. That’s a matter of time.”

This is just the first of what will be a great partnership with the Younghusband brothers (James and Phil) and the Philippines,” said Kam who through his ProEvents made the partnership possible. “It is certainly possible down the line that some of the first team Chelsea coaches and players could come over and give the school a boost.”

For the Younghusband brothers, they are thrilled to be involved with their old club for the soccer school. “It’s always good to be involved with our old club,” said James. “We are familiar with how the organization works and the style of play. The partnership also helps our Younghusband Football Academy. Seeing as how football is continuing to grow here in the Philippines, we are just happy to help in its growth and popularity.”

“With our soccer school in Hong Kong, I became very aware of the Younghusband brothers and the recent success of Philippine football,” added Kam. “The partnership was a logical one and I’ll have to say that it is an honor for Chelsea to be able to put up the first foreign soccer school in the Philippines. I’m going to have to agree also with Dave that maybe through our efforts, we can help in the growth of football in this country and help a Filipino play maybe in Chelsea, Europe or some major league. That will be an immense source of pride for not only this soccer school but also for the Philippines.”

Part of the plans for the Chelsea Soccer School is putting up ‘the blue pitch” or a blue colored turf pitch that is a part of all the academies of the English club. For now, the school will be held at the Evia Field in Portofino, Cavite.

The brothers were presented with a Chelsea away shirt that was signed by the entire first team of the Blues who have made the English FA Cup Finals with a 5-1 thrashing of Tottenham to face old rival Liverpool.

The Chelsea FC Soccer School summer camp is partnership with The Younghusband Football Academy and will have a limited number of slots for intermediate and advanced football training that will also be overseen by some of the club’s coaches. The age groups will be divided as follows Under-8, U-10, U-12, and U-16 for boys and girls.

The summer camp will be held at the Evia Football Field in Las Piñas on April 17, 19, 24, 26 as well as on May 3, 8, and10. The culminating activity and the Official Launch of the Chelsea Soccer School, will be held on May 15 at the SM Mall of Asia. The Chelsea FC Soccer School is sponsored by McDonald’s, AKTV, The Bellevue, SM Mall of Asia, Smart, Gatorade, Hyundai, SM Cares, and ProEvents.

For more information about The Chelsea FC Soccer School, please visit www.theyounghusbandfootballacademy.com or contact 09478357519.