The Sino-UK Football Education Park will be established in Guangdong.

(This article is translated from Xinhua News Agency.)

Source: Xinhua News Agency 2022-12-17 12:13:18 Full text

On 16th December 2022, Xinhua News Agency in Doha reported (by Reporters Mr Zijiang Wang and Mr Haoming Wang) that Mr Nelson Cheng, the head of the "The Sino-UK School Football Project," announced on the 16th that the Dr Sun Yi Xian's Youth Foundation, for which he serves as Secretary-General, will establish The Sino-UK Football Education Park in Shangtang Village, Conghua District, Guangzhou, to promote the development of youth football in China.

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The Dr Sun Yi Xian's Youth Foundation is a non-profit organisation registered in the UK in 2003. The "The Sino-UK School Football Project" is based on a 15-year agreement signed between the Foundation and the English Football Association (FA) in 2012. Through this project, the Foundation brings experienced football education experts from the English FA and the English Schools' Football Association to introduce new concepts of football education from England to China, promoting the British style of football education.

The first phase of the "The Sino-UK School Football Project" focused on launching coaching courses in China, training nearly 300 bilingual (Chinese and English) football coaches with international certification. In July 2018, the second phase began, in collaboration with Tongji University, with 15,552 football enthusiasts participating in foundational teaching courses.

Mr Nelson Cheng said, “The construction of The Sino-UK Football Education Park marks the third phase of the 'The Sino-UK School Football Project.' This phase focuses on building a team of experts with extensive knowledge and experience in football education, with the long-term goal of systematically introducing English and European football education, football economics, and football branding.”

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In 2012, Mr Jamie Houchen, a technical official from the English FA, signed the "The Sino-UK School Football Project" agreement on behalf of the FA. Now the Director of FIFA's Technical Department, Mr Houchen mentioned in an interview during the Qatar World Cup that Mr Nelson Cheng's plan to build a football education park in Guangzhou will undoubtedly accelerate the development of school football in China and aligns with FIFA’s talent development initiatives.

“Mr Nelson Cheng has shown great passion for football over the years, dedicating significant time, energy, and resources to the sport. The construction of the Guangzhou Football Education Park is a forward-thinking plan. His collaboration with British coaches has matured significantly, and if his project is successful, coaches from other countries and regions will likely join. This would greatly benefit the long-term development of football in China,” Mr Houchen said.