By IANS
Kolkata : The British Council Monday launched an English Premier League (EPL) initiative here to train 40 coaches, scouted by Indian Football Association (IFA) over the last four months from eastern and northeastern India.
Two qualified Football Association coaches, Gareth Prosser and Vic Bettinelli, who is also a specialised goalkeeping coach for Fulham, are accompanying the EPL team and will train the coaches.
“We just finished the programme in Egypt and it was a huge success. The plan is to select 40 coaches from each of the two regions and train them in three phases so that they can go back and serve football in their area of networking in a more fruitful manner,” said Warren Barton, a member of the EPL team.
“In the first part of the premier skills programme, the young coaches will be given a chance to develop their skills through world class professional coaches.”
The training will be in phases over the next three years. The second phase will begin in October and the third phase after a year.
“We are also keeping a close eye on the cultural uniqueness of the programme as each region is unique to itself,” he added.
EPL’s first such camp was held in New Delhi last month.
“The intense session will certainly bring a big difference in coaching, infrastructure and referring,” IFA Secretary Utpal Ganguly said.