Club funds Hong Konga£á?s young football elite to train the Manchester United way

07/16/2012

From today (16 July), 64 of Hong Kong’s selected young football elite will be given the football chance of a lifetime.  They will join the Jockey Club Elite Youth Football Camp for a two-week training programme under four expert coaches from the Manchester United Soccer School (MUSS).  Training takes place on the Happy Valley Artificial Pitch.

Jockey Club Corporate Business Planning and Programme Management Director Scarlette Leung joined today’s opening ceremony with Manchester United (MU) legend Gary Neville and Technical Director of Hong Kong Football Association Steve O’Connor.

Ms Leung was delighted to see the cream of the local youth players who will be the first to benefit from this new partnership between the Club and Manchester United Soccer School launched last month. “This partnership goes hand in hand with our strategy for ongoing support to the development of football at grass-roots level and also the district training scheme,” she said.  “The elite training camp represents another step forward in the Club’s commitment to contributing to the Hong Kong community and associating the Club’s sporting strategies with world-class partners.”

Gary Neville was equally excited about the project.  “For these young players to have the chance to compete for the right to train at Carrington is fantastic,” he said.  “Football is a growing sport in Hong Kong and the support of The Hong Kong Jockey Club has played its part in encouraging young people to take up the game.  I hope that the Manchester United Soccer School can contribute to a continued improvement in coaching and playing standards here in Hong Kong and that the players take as much out of this fantastic opportunity as they can.”

The Jockey Club has partnered Manchester United in the Jockey Club Elite Youth Football Camp by providing HK$11 million funding.  In the coming three years, the elite young footballers will have a chance to take part in a two-week training camp under coaches from the MUSS.  This year, the two most outstanding young players will be offered another lifetime opportunity by joining Manchester United’s academy training camp for a week in the United Kingdom. 

This year Michael Neary, Carl Wild, Jamie Fitzpatrick and Mike Walsh are the coaches from MUSS who will train the young players.

The Jockey Club has been a staunch supporter of local football development over the years, and has recently provided funding for the Kitchee Foundation to establish the Jockey Club Kitchee Centre - a new youth football training centre to nurture more local football talent.  The Club has also provided funding to Hong Kong Football Association to launch a three-year Jockey Club Youth Football Development Programme, which provides basic football skills training for close to10,000 young people from across the city’s 18 districts and offers district-based training to female players. 

The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is not only one of the world's leading horse racing organisations but also a world top 15 charitable organisation and Hong Kong’s largest community contributor, donating HK$1.6 billion in 2011. It is also a major taxpayer, Hong Kong's single largest by far, generating over HK$15 billion a year for public funds. The Club pioneers technology applications for sporting and betting entertainment, striving for the highest levels of customer service. As a membership club, it is recognised as one of Asia’s most prestigious, with more than 23,000 members. These multifaceted roles make it a well-respected and remarkable organisation, dedicated to its mission of enhancing the quality of life for all Hong Kong people.

Link to Youth Football Development website

Attachments:

1. Fact Sheet of Jockey Club Elite Youth Football Camp
2. Brief bios of the coaches