The English Premier League’s Chelsea Football Club, sponsored by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., is traveling around the United States visiting Boys and Girls Club of America locations in Seattle, Miami, and New York. This is the first time they are running a youth football camp in the United States (that’s soccer here in America!) and it is designed to encourage kids ages 9-13 to pursue their dreams and nurture athletic talent.
This past weekend, July 20-July 22, kids in Brooklyn had the chance to train with coaches from the English Premier League, Chelsea FC, and learn “The Chelsea way” through a series of skill drills designed to help refine their control, shooting, dribbling, and passing during a half-day youth football camp. The team is visiting several cities in the United States, and more than 500 children from Boys & Girls Club of America (BGCA) and children from local youth soccer teams will participate in total.
The Chelsea Football Club, sponsored by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, launched the U.S. leg of the Samsung – Chelsea FC Youth Football Camp in Seattle on July 14. This global soccer program is designed to encourage children aged 9 to 13 to pursue their dreams and nurture athletic talent.
”This opportunity with Samsung and Chelsea Football Club is a valuable part of our many successful initiatives to inspire healthy living and active learning in the young people we serve,” says Marvin Laster, BGCA’s director of character and citizenship. “Boys & Girls Clubs of America believes having young people participate in organized recreation activities, strengthens character, increases confidence, and enhances their ability to relate well to others.”
“We are very pleased to bring this program to the U.S. for the first time,” says Sunny Hwang, Vice President and head of global sports marketing at Samsung. “As the world’s largest consumer electronics company and a responsible company, Samsung believes in supporting and motivating children in our local communities by developing their potential to excel in areas that they have passion in. We hope to continue to provide excitement and great experience to football fans around the world.”
The Samsung-Chelsea FC Youth Football Camp, which became a global program in 2011, has been an important component of Samsung’s commitment to children’s health and well-being. Approximately 2,000 children from around the world have benefitted through this program.
Another example of Samsung’s commitment to children that’s specific to the U.S. is a program called Ready, Set, Gold!. It combines the excitement of the Olympics and the importance of goal setting to help children combat childhood obesity and diabetes by pairing public schools with Olympians and Paralympians who visit schools several times a year to provide real-life examples of how to be successful and healthy in sport and in life.
The Chelsea Football Club conducted Chelsea FC Youth Football Camp at Long Island University in Brooklyn on July 20 and July 21. The event was free and participants received jerseys and giveaways including certificates, water bottles, pins, USB drives with their training photos, and key rings. The Chelsea FC team played an exhibition game versus Paris Saint Germain at Yankee Stadium on July 22.
