AIA Invites English Premier League Pros to Continue Training Local Coaches: Second Phase of AIA and CNCC Programme Begins

Phnom Penh, 07 June 2019 – The second phase of “Training for Trainers on Grassroot Development Programme”, a joint initiative between AIA (Cambodia) Life Insurance (“AIA Cambodia”) and the Cambodia National Competitions Committee (“CNCC”), began today with two elite-level English Premier League coaches arriving in Cambodia to train 56 of their local counterparts from clubs participating in the Cambodian League.

The program was launched earlier this year in February in conjunction with English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (“Spurs”). The program’s aim is to develop the standard of Cambodian football at the grassroots level while helping local communities live healthier, longer, better lives.

The second phase of the 4-part initiative was held at the American University of Phnom Penh and focused on how to develop the best training environment along with more granular detail on how to plan and create optimal football-coaching sessions for younger age groups. The two Spurs coaches, Anton Blackwood and Aaron Arthur, spent the whole morning offering transferring expertise and experience to all participants, containing both theories in a classroom setting and real practices on the football field.

Coach Anton Blackwood said: “The core focus of this second phase of the program is to provide the coaches with the world-class tools, skills and methodologies we have developed at Spurs to help them create the best training environment for youth teams along with how to get the most out of each individual training session. From the reaction we have seen so far, we are highly confident that each coach is enjoying the program and taking on board all of the knowledge we are teaching them.”

AIA Cambodia was able to invite the two coaches to Cambodia due to its role as the Global Principal Partner of Spurs. As part of this global partnership, Spurs have based two of their elite-level coaching staff within Asia to assist AIA in helping young people develop their interest in football while helping them to see the health benefits of staying active.

AIA management Pauline Teoh said: “Helping the communities we serve live healthier, more fulfilling lives is a key aspect of our work at AIA, and one we take very seriously. It is therefore highly rewarding to see our global connections benefitting local institutions like the CNCC and CambodianLeague. We hope that this program will have a significant impact on grassroots football training in Cambodia and help more young children participate in and benefit from playing sport.”  

The program includes two more phases which will take place later this year. The next phase will focus on developing a holistic training approach and how to plan a 6-week grassroots training program. The final phase will concentrate on how the coaches can link all the methodologies they have learned throughout the course to ensure they provide structured and comprehensive training programs.

Chhun Sothearath, one of the Cambodian League coaches, said: “Today has been enlightening for me personally. To get to work with world-class coaches like Anton and Aaron has been a privilege. I look forward to learning more in the future, so I can improve my coaching skills even further.”

About AIA Cambodia

AIA (Cambodia) Life Insurance Plc (“AIA Cambodia”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of AIA Group Limited (“AIA” or “the Group”), the largest life insurer in the world by market capitalisation.

The Group has a presence in 18 markets in Asia-Pacific – wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, New Zealand, Macau, Brunei, Cambodia, a 97 per cent subsidiary in Sri Lanka, a 49 percent joint venture in India and a representative office in Myanmar. AIA is a market leader in the Asia-Pacific region (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$230 billion as of 31 December 2018. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia-Pacific, AIA serves the holders of more than 33 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.

AIA Cambodia offers market-leading life insurance products and services to meet the growing need for financial protection and long-term savings of people in Cambodia. AIA Cambodia is committed to contributing to the Kingdom’s economic and social development over the long term, and help Cambodians live healthier, longer, better lives.

About CNCC

Cambodian National Competitions Committee (“CNCC”) is a governing body of Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC). In late 2016, CNCC was established for a purpose to look after domestic football matches for a reason to improve the Hun Sen Cup and the Metfone Cambodian League, and it has His Excellency Dy Vichea as a Chairman. CNCC has 4 offices: Technical & Competition, Administration, Finance, and Marketing & Media Communications. At present, CNCC runs the Hun Sen Cup and the Metfone Cambodian League.

About Tottenham Hotspur

Founded in 1882, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club has a tradition of playing an entertaining and attacking style of football. The team finished fourth in the 2018/2019 Premier League season, securing UEFA Champions League qualification for a fourth year in a row and were a Champions League finalist this year for the first time in their history.

Tottenham Hotspur also has:

• A global following in excess of 400 million, with strong supporter bases across the UK, Europe, USA and Asia
• Over 190 Official Supporters Clubs worldwide, including a fully mobilised and active Club in Cambodia
• A newly-built state-of-the-art training centre with a new world class stadium opening soon that will sit at the heart of a major regeneration for North London
• Commercial partnerships with globally-recognised brands including AIA Group Limited (AIA), one of the world's leading providers of life insurance services, and Nike, the world’s leading sports footwear and apparel company
• An award-winning Foundation that has created 3 million opportunities to help enhance the lives of people in its local community through education, employment, health and social inclusion programmes

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