Beijing's first grassroots sports ambassadors train to travel to Britain

Beijing, China (April 8, 2008) /ChinaNewswire.com/ — ClubFootball, Beijing's biggest football network, is teaming up with CHINA NOW, the UK's largest ever festival of Chinese culture, to promote grassroots football and give 16 football-loving Beijing youngsters the tour of a lifetime to Britain in the run up to the 2008 Olympic Games.

The China Now ClubFootball Exchange is a unique opportunity for children in Beijing to participate in the same after-school and weekend football activities enjoyed by millions of kids in Britain. The Exchange will also allow a select number of children to engage with UK children face-to-face in a series of matches on a UK football tour across England and Scotland.

Commencing in April 2008, at selected areas around Beijing, over 1,000 children aged between 11-16 years will train for three months under the guidance of FA-qualified coaches from the UK. A tournament will take place at the end of May where 16 children will be selected to become Beijing's first grassroots sports ambassadors to Britain with an exciting tour of the country in July 2008 as the special guests of CHINA NOW.

All Beijing boys aged 12-13 who are enrolled in ClubFootball courses in Beijing this Spring will have the chance to win a place on the CHINA NOW tour. The tour will take place in late July and will include training sessions at Charlton FC (captained by Zheng Zhi), visits to Old Trafford (the home of Manchester United), Hampden Park (the home of the Scottish Football Association), lunch at the FA Headquarters, and a series of friendly games against British youngsters. The project is also being supported by the Middle School Times, and, students on the tour will contribute stories and photos about their trip and what they learn about British football culture.

Welcoming the launch of ClubFootball Spring Courses, ClubFootball Chairman Rowan Simons said, "The CHINA NOW ClubFootball Exchange provides a rare chance for ordinary kids to take the centre stage in this Olympic year. By providing young British coaches with the chance to share their love of the game with Chinese kids, the project perfectly suits the growing sporting links between Britain and China at the community level and the true spirit of the Olympic Games".

Speaking about the selection criteria for the CHINA NOW tour, ClubFootball COO David Niven stressed that the aim is to encourage and reward those kids who have most enthusiastically embraced football as part of their regular lives. "In addition to their football skills, the judges will also be considering English language ability, how they work in a team and their sense of fair play. Successful teams at the grassroots level require many different characters with different strengths and all these factors will be considered when we make our final selection in May".

ClubFootball runs courses for kids between 4 and 18 years old at several locations in Beijing and more information can be found at www.wanguoqunxing.com (Chinese) and www.clubfootball.com.cn (English)

CHINA NOW has been welcomed by both the British and Chinese government's, with both Gordon Brown, British Prime Minister and Wen Jiabao, Premier of the People's Republic of China endorsing the initiative.
About ClubFootball:
ClubFootball is Beijing's first joint venture football club and has broken new ground in developing the game of football in China through a variety of high – profile and grass roots projects and initiatives that have earned the company recognition throughout the business, sporting and wider community. http://www.clubfootball.com.cn

About CHINA NOW:
CHINA NOW is an independently funded, non-profit organization which aims to build awareness and forge relationships between artists, cultural leaders, schools, businesses and communities across UK and China by building a vibrant, dynamic festival that showcases the very best aspects of modern Chinese society and culture.

CHINA NOW was conceived by the UK business community and is chaired by Stephen Green, Group Chairman of HSBC Holdings plc. With over 800 events nationwide, CHINA NOW will showcase the very best of modern Chinese society and culture advancing the public’s education and understanding of China and capturing the attention of the UK.

The CHINA NOW website can be viewed at www.chinanow.org.uk

About Middle School Times:
Middles School Times is part of the Beijing Youth Daily group. The newspaper was founded by the Education Committees of Beijing and Tianjin. It is circulated in all of the capital's Middle schools and has the largest circulation for a newspaper of its type. For more information go to: http://zxss.ynet.com

[smpr_tags]China Now, Clubfootball[/smpr_tags]