Chinese football coaches in Manchester for quality and management training

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A group of 57 coaches from China have headed to one of the epicenters of English football in the drive to help raise the level of the game in China.

The senior level Chinese football coaches arrived in Manchester, home of top premier league clubs Manchester United and Manchester City in late June. They have enrolled on a 12-week quality training and management program.

The new program is being run by The University of Manchester and the Manchester Football Association.

The University of Manchester holds opening ceremony for the training program on June 25, 2017. /Education Section Consulate General of China in Manchester Photo

The coaches will be taking study trips to St George's Park, the home of the Manchester City and Manchester United training complexes and attending the FA Community Shield at the start of the 2017-2018 football season.

A spokesman for the University of Manchester said China's soccer reform "will require a huge increase in the number of trained coaches, so the new program run by the University of Manchester and the Manchester Football Association is part of a high-level drive to learn from the rest of the world and achieve this dream."

The program is one of the three in Britain for Chinese coaches this year, supported by the Chinese Consulate, and stems from the university's and city's links with China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Manchester City Football Academy on October 23, 2015. /Xinhua Photo

These ties were exemplified by Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Manchester in 2015 where he visited the National Graphene Institute and posed for a selfie with Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero at the Etihad.

"The coaches will be undertaking their FA International Intermediate and also their FA International Advanced qualifications. In addition to the qualifications Manchester FA will be providing a unique insight into English football from grassroots to the professional game," said Colin Bridgford, CEO of Manchester Football Association.

(Source: Xinhua)

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