Chelsea Football Club will bring its world-class coaching to Oxford this year in a partnership with St Edward’s School, with the chance for local primary school children and grassroots clubs to experience some of the best coaching of the footballing world.
St Edward’s School has established a ground-breaking partnership with Chelsea FC to bring world famous sporting excellence into the heart of its pupils’ experience and out into the local Oxfordshire community. The school has seen an increasing interest in football in recent years and is rapidly expanding its girls’ and boys’ football programmes, with an eye on national success.
As part of the agreement with St Edward’s, full time Chelsea FC coaches will be embedded in the Oxford school alongside the existing football programme to supercharge the coaching offer. Pupils will have the opportunity to visit Stamford Bridge, Chelsea’s Cobham training ground, and to play matches at Kingsmeadow, home of Chelsea FC Women and their U21 Academy. Strength and conditioning and video analysis sessions will be available to school footballers alongside a programme of mentoring and support, a particular advantage for those looking to develop their football pathway or to seek US football scholarships.
Chelsea is excited by the new facilities in development at St Edward’s, and by the schools’ location and partnership network, enabling them to share their sporting excellence with new generations of young people beyond London.
Steve Shipp, Football Projects Manager at Chelsea FC said: “We are delighted to be partnering with St Edward’s School, and we look forward to building an impactful programme that services both the pupils of the school and wider Oxford community.”
Alastair Chirnside, Warden at St Edward’s said: “The partnership with Chelsea will build on the popularity of football and the strengthening programme at the school. Through the very best of world class coaching, we now have a very strong offer for young people who both want to improve their game at any standard and for those who want to take it to the highest level. We are delighted to be able to share the expertise with young footballers beyond our school gates in a community programme as part of the partnership.”
For both the Teddies community and the wider Oxford area, the partnership with Chelsea will resonate beyond the world of football. Club representatives will offer careers guidance in sports management, sports physio, sponsorship, talent management and more. The world-famous club plans to offer talks and events for local schools and members of the public in all their areas of expertise, as well as hosting holiday camps and talent centres at St Edward’s for the wider community.
