9 May 2008
VIDEO: Prince shows his skills
FA President Prince William joins in with an FA Tesco Skills session at St.Aidan's Primary School in Blackburn.
FA President Prince William joined around 50 youngsters in Blackburn for an FA Tesco Skills session on Friday morning.

On a sunny day in Lancashire, the Prince visited St Aidan’s Primary School giving the pupils chance to rub shoulders with royalty, as well as develop new football skills through the highly successful programme.

The Prince has a particular interest in The FA's grassroots football and community work and he spent well over an hour watching the sessions and chatting to the pupils before joining in with some of the drills himself.

In two separate sessions, five of The FA’s Skills Coaches took the children aged between five and six and 10 and 11 through warm-ups, agility exercises, ball skills drills and problem solving exercises.

Launched last summer, The FA Tesco Skills Programme is co-ordinated by The FA and joint-funded by Sport Engand, through the National Sports Foundation, and Tesco.

It forms a central pillar of The FA's coaching and player development strategy and since its launch, over 340,000 boys and girls aged between 5-11 have taken part in skills sessions up and down the country, with the target of 1 million participants by the summer of 2010.

The Prince was joined in Blackburn by The FA’s Director of Football Development Sir Trevor Brooking, who has been delighted with the Programme's impact:

"The Skills Programme is all about getting boys and girls enthused through positive encouragement and allowing them to express themselves with a ball,” said Brooking.

“It's not about becoming a world-beater, it's about fun and improving your skills, whatever your level. It's fantastic that Prince William has taken such an interest in this area of our work."

St. Aidan's head teacher Laura Pooles added: "The pupils love playing football and to be able to meet a member of the Royal Family and show off their skills is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“In our experience, The FA Tesco Skills Programme has had a very positive effect on the general levels of motivation and self-esteem." 

Jennie Price, Chief Executive of Sport England, which funds the National Sports Foundation, said: "If we are to become a world leading football nation - by having more flair than the Brazilians and being stronger in defence than the Italians - we need expert coaching to raise technical standards at a young age.

"With ex-Internationals and Premier League stars coaching the young players, this scheme inspires our young talent to be the best they can be. We are delighted that over 340,000 young boys and girls have already received specialised coaching sessions and believe the scheme is making great strides towards achieving the ambition of getting one million children in England top-quality skills coaching by summer 2010."

Courses will be running up and down the country. If you are interested in attending, or wish to join the club to learn skills online, visit TheFA.com/Skills for more details.