FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PREMIER LEAGUE AND BRITISH COUNCIL LAUNCH INNOVATIVE NEW COACHING PROJECT FOR AFGHANISTAN Dubai, 03 July, 2013- The hugely successful Premier Skills initiative, run by the UK Premier League and the British Council, has this week launched in Dubai. Premier skills will take place from Sunday 30 June to Saturday 6 July at the GEMS World Academy in Dubai. Twenty grassroots football coaches have been selected from across Afghanistan for the intensive training. The project will be led by head coach Johnnie Garside, a senior coach at Everton with extensive experience of delivering Premier Skills around the world. Supporting him will be Mark Bright, the former Crystal Palace and Sheffield Wednesday player. Both are UEFA qualified coaches. The course in Dubai is being jointly organized by the British Council, the UK Premier League, the Afghanistan Football Federation and the Roshan Afghan Premier League with support from the UK Government. During a press conference held at the GEMS World Academy on Sunday 30th , the British Council Director in Afghanistan, John Mitchell, said: “The British Council is committed to supporting the development of young leaders in Afghanistan for the long-term and sport is an effective means for peace- building, national cohesion and nurturing healthy communities and national pride. I hope this project will have a long and successful legacy in Afghanistan.” MOBY GROUP Marketing Head Jonathan Flender said “We strongly believe that the Afghan football and the Roshan Afghan Premier League will greatly benefit from the Premier Skills training and ultimately and most importantly, the people of Afghanistan will benefit from it.” The Premier Skills Initiative is known for having a tremendous impact wherever it has been. It has already impacted 21 countries across Asia, Africa and the Americas. Premier Skills has created training opportunities benefitting 2,300 grassroots coaches and referees who in turn have reached more than 400,000 young people since 2007. With that impressive background, it’s excellent to have their professionalism in the field aiding Afghan coaches. About Premier Skills: Premier Skills is a partnership between the Premier League and the British Council which uses football as a tool to engage with and develop the skills of young people. Since the first pilot in 2007, the project has been delivered across 21 countries: Afghanistan, Botswana, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Korea, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia (including Libyan participants), Uganda and Vietnam. In 2010 an enhanced coaching offer and new referee coaching element was added to the programme, as well as a new community project element based on the Premier League’s highly successful UK Kickz programme, linking UK community projects run by Premier League clubs to similar projects in other countries, building long-term partnerships that aim to change the lives of thousands of people. The target by summer 2013 is for Premier Skills to have reached more than 500,000 young people through the coaches, and to provide access to the English language materials for millions of teachers and learners of English worldwide. For more on Premier Skills visit www.britishcouncil.org/sport-premier- skills.htm To find out more about the football-focused English content and to view the materials online, visit http://premierskills.britishcouncil.org/ The Premier League is involved in a wide range of community projects both in the UK and overseas. For more information on these, see: http://creatingchancesnews.premierleague.com/ About the British Council: The British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and builds trust between them worldwide. We are a Royal Charter charity, established as the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. Our 7000 staff in over 100 countries work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year through English, arts, education and society programmes. We earn over 75% of our annual turnover of £739 million from services which customers pay for, education and development contracts we bid for and from partnerships. A UK Government grant provides the remaining 25%. We match every £1 of core public funding with over £3 earned in pursuit of our charitable purpose. For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org. You can also keep in touch with the British Council through http://twitter.com/britishcouncil and http://blog.britishcouncil.org/. For More Information please contact Tim Sowula, Snr Press Officer, on +447771 718 135 or [email protected] ABOUT MOBY GROUP: MOBY Group is the AFF’s long-term strategic partner charged to created, organize, market and manage the Roshan Afghan Premier League. MOBY GROUP owns and operates 13 businesses in the Middle East and South-Central Asia: The 3 top TV channels in Afghanistan consistently drawing 15M+ viewers in their top shows, collectively. An Award-winning TV Production content company, Kaboora Production, with Sundance Film Festival and Soul Drama Festival award winning content; as well as Emmy- nominated content. 21st Century Fox is a shareholder of the MOBY GROUP. www.mobygroup.com For media enquiries or interviews, please contact [email protected] or call Sekander Saleh on +93 798 136 980. or Jonathan Flender – Head of Marketiing: [email protected] About the Roshan Afghan Premier League (APL): Afghanistan's second nationwide football premier league takes place in Kabul's Afghan Football Federation (AFF) Stadium, and will end on 11 October 2013. The final eight teams are selected during July and August from eight zones including Greater Kabul, Centre, North East, North, South East, West, South West and East. The league is fully supported by the International Football Federation FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation. All playing rules and regulations are in accordance with those set forth by FIFA and AFC. All RAPL matches are being televised LIVE on TOLO TV and Lemar and broadcast on radio stations Arman FM and Arakozia FM, as well as being available via cable TV, and online. Follow the competition via www.afghanpremierleague.com. About the Afghan Football Federation (AFF): The AFF is the controlling body for the sport in the country, and was admitted to FIFA in 1948. The Afghanistan Football Federation is a Non-Governmental non-profit Association which began serving football activities for Afghanistan in 1922. The federation continues to organize all types of football (Soccer, Futsal, Beach Soccer, Mini Soccer, Street Soccer, etc) within Afghanistan through various tournaments, leagues, championships and courses. About Roshan: Roshan (Telecom Development Company Afghanistan Ltd) is the Title sponsor of the Afghan Premier League 2013 and is Afghanistan's leading total communications provider, with over 6 million active subscribers and a network that covers over 230 cities and towns in all of the country's 34 provinces. Roshan is a true Afghanistan success story, serving as a catalyst for economic growth and actively contributing to the country's long-term development. Since its inception eight years ago, Roshan has invested over $550 million in Afghanistan and is the country's single largest investor and taxpayer, contributing approximately 5% of the Afghan government's overall domestic revenue. Roshan directly employs more than 1,300 people, 19% of whom are women, and provides indirect employment to more than 30,000 people. .