Outstanding graduates from third JC Youth Football Leadership Scheme rewarded with England trip

07/09/2016

The Hong Kong Jockey Club today (9 July) celebrated the successful completion of its third Youth Football Leadership Scheme and announced the six most outstanding young leaders. The six will travel to England, where they will join community activities organised by internationally-renowned football club Manchester United. 

The Youth Football Leadership Scheme, initiated and sponsored by the Club, and organised in collaboration with Manchester United and the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs), involves 45 young people aged between 15 and 19, drawn  from all districts of Hong Kong. Combining lessons in football coaching, life-skills workshops hosted by renowned mentors and community service programmes, the scheme is aimed at nurturing the physical, mental and social skills of young people to help them develop their potential as future community leaders.

The Club’s Executive Director, Corporate Planning, Communications and Membership Scarlette Leung congratulated this year’s participants and said that since the launch of the scheme in 2014, more than 100 participants had completed the programme successfully. “Everyone has the potential to become a leader if given the right opportunities and guidance to discover their talents,” she said.

The elementary football coaching course was  provided by the Hong Kong Head Coach of Manchester United Soccer School Christopher O’Brien, while the personality and fitness workshops were led by renowned mentors Olympic gold medallist Lee Lai-shan, media presenter and performer Lawrence Cheng Dan-shui and former Hong Kong Olympic swimmer Alex Fong Lik-sun.

The six participants, who were selected on the basis of their outstanding attitude and performance levels, will travel to Manchester next month where they will participate in community services and exchange activities for a week. This will include playing in community football matches as well as having the chance to see Manchester United in training and in a top-flight match. The class will also be offered a 3-day exchange tour to Guangzhou.

Also attending today’s ceremony to congratulate the graduates were representatives of the scheme’s co-organisers TWGHs, 5th Vice-Chairman Ginny Man and Community Services Secretary Ivan Yiu, as well as Hong Kong and Kitchee FC captain Lo Kwan-yee. Lo shared his views on the qualities of a leader, and recalled his struggle between education and football.

In a related development, the Club announced that the four winners of the HKJC Soccer 4 contest, held at the Riding High Together Festival earlier this year, would also be going to England for training and exchange with the six outstanding young leaders.

The Club is a long-time supporter of local football development. Since 2012 it has collaborated with Manchester United on a number of programmes designed to develop the physical, mental and social capabilities of young people, including the JC Elite Youth Football Camp, the JC School Football Development Scheme, the JC Youth Football Leadership Scheme and JC Youth Football Fitness Assessment. In June this year, the Club and Manchester United announced their further collaboration as Community Football Partners. The Club also supports the Jockey Club Youth Football Development Scheme, the summer scheme of which is the largest such programme in Hong Kong. Last year, the Club announced a HK$120 million donation to support the Jockey Club HKFA 5-Year Football Development Programme, which is aimed at promoting football across the community, including futsal and women’s football. In terms of infrastructure, the Club has supported the construction of the Jockey Club Kitchee Centre and the rebuilding of Hong Kong Stadium as a home for Hong Kong’s major domestic and international football games.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a world-class horse racing operator and Hong Kong’s largest community benefactor, as well as one of Asia’s most prestigious membership clubs. Operating as a not-for-profit organisation, the Club allocates its surplus funds for charitable and community projects. In 2014/15, its donations reached a record $3.87 billion, and in the last decade alone it supported over 1,300 projects. The Club is also Hong Kong’s largest single taxpayer, contributing a record HK$20.05 billion in 2014/15. With about 70% of its revenue given back to society every year through donations and tax contributions, The Hong Kong Jockey Club delivers a significantly higher return to the community than any other racing and/or sports betting organisation in the world. As a socially responsible organisation, the Club helps Government combat illegal betting and advocates responsible gambling. The Club is also one of Hong Kong’s largest employers with over 24,000 full-time and part-time staff. Committed to global excellence and giving back to society, the Club is always “riding high together for a better future” with the people of Hong Kong.