Club and AIA initiative gains recognition in Asia
Mon 22 July 2019, 09:42|Tottenham Hotspur
AIA, the Club’s Global Principal Partner, has won the ‘CSR Initiative of the Year Award’ at this year’s Insurance Asia Awards for their football coaching initiative run in partnership with the Club.
AIA Indonesia and the Club deliver the ‘AIA Soccer for the Nation’ programme, which was launched in March, 2018, by AIA’s Global Ambassador David Beckham. Since then, Tottenham Hotspur and AIA have delivered coaching clinics to over 10,000 players and coaches across 12 regions of Indonesia and taken 100 of the most talented youngsters to AIA’s elite football training camp in Phuket.
This project is part of a wider programme which Tottenham Hotspur runs across Asia-Pacific in partnership with AIA. Our Global Football Development coaches, Shaun Harris, Anton Blackwood and Aaron Tillbrook, are based permanently in Asia and work with players of all levels, nurturing local talent and promoting AIA’s initiative to encourage healthier, longer, better lives.
They identify talented players and coaches and create a pathway for them to progress to a professional level. They also run grassroots coaching sessions and nutritional workshops and, since May, 2017, have directly engaged with over 30,000 participants across Asia-Pacific.
Shaun, Anton and Aaron are currently on our pre-season tour where they are delivering coaching clinics and coach education programmes to budding players and coaches across Singapore and Shanghai.
Anton, International Development Manager, said: “It’s an honour to collect this award on behalf of AIA and Tottenham Hotspur. I have been based in Asia since 2017 and, during that time, have had the opportunity to travel across Indonesia coaching youngsters to help them reach the best of their abilities. It’s fantastic to have been recognised for our achievements and I hope the programme continues to go from strength to strength.”