'Red Champions' return with seeds for future
For Thai children from humble backgrounds and remote areas, a chance to visit Premier League idols like Liverpool and Manchester United is beyond even their wildest dreams.
But AP Honda, along with the Office of the Basic Education Commission, have for the past three years been handing that chance and more to young Thais via the highly successful “Honda Red Champion” project.
Through its sponsorship deals with the clubs –England’s most successful, with 38 domestic championships between them – AP Honda have gradually improved Red Champion as a potential breeding ground for Thailand’s first Premier League footballer.
Rather than simply staging a football tournament and taking the winners to England, the company wants to improve the overall level of footballing skills among young children around the country.
The more than 500 teams of under-18s who took part in this year’s project faced a long journey to a once-in-a-lifetime training stint at either Liverpool or Manchester United.
They first needed to negotiate the skills test, which comprised five phases: juggling, dribbling, passing, finishing and heading. Only the best 16 teams qualified for the knockout tournament in each of the five regional competitions, with the winners flying to England.
In the first year of the project, only two sides travelled to England.
“We created this project with the main aim of helping development of football in the country. We would like to see children focusing more on basic skills that are the foundation of a career as a professional player,” said Suchart Arunsaengroj, AP Honda’s sales director.
“We’ve had a positive response from schools around the country, with the number of participating teams higher each year. Since the first year of the project, we’ve seen participants getting better and better skills-wise. It was a pleasure for us to hear that some of those teenagers caught the eye of local clubs playing in regional leagues.”
Suchart said the company decided to limit the age group eligible to compete because they wanted participants to return and pass on the experience they gained from the trip to juniors at their schools.
“We hope the England trip will be an inspiration not just for those who travelled with us. Ideally, we want to see the players go back to their schools and tell friends or juniors about their experiences in England.” That way “football fever” will spread through the young generation, added Suchart.
The journey certainly sparked inspiration among the nearly 50-strong Thai group, comprising players, coaches and school directors, that visited the giants of English football this year. AP Honda invites coaches and directors along with students so that they can aid development of the game at grassroots level when they return.
Apart from the short training stint at Liverpool or United (the choice was up to them), the Thai teenagers also got a taste of Premier League action. The Liverpool group were at Anfield to hear the Kop roar “You’ll Never Walk Alone” during the Merseyside club’s 4-0 victory at home to Tottenham, while their counterparts watched United’s 4-1 success over Aston Villa at Old Trafford.
The Red Champion experience will remain long in the memory of each participant, who perhaps carry home the seeds for Thailand’s first Premier League player.
