The Tranmere Rovers International Soccer Academy has been celebrated for its innovative approach to sporting partnerships and coaching after being named a ‘Rising Star’ at the 2019 Greater China Awards.
In the ceremony held at Manchester’s unique international hub MediaCity, companies and organizations from the North West region were recognized for their contribution in encouraging relationships and business with Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Now in their 14th year, the awards, from the Department of International Trade are run in conjunction with the “Exporting is GREAT” campaign, a UK Government initiative to inspire and support firms across the country to export.
The Rising Star title is specifically awarded to businesses which have had innovative and successful partnerships with Greater China for less than three years.
Established in 2016, the International Soccer Academy provides elite training camps for players and coaches across Asia and the USA.
Originating as a way to open up dialogue between talented players and experts in lesser-known regions of China and professional clubs in England, the Tranmere ISA team first travelled to the Hainan Province to formulate training camps which would educate and inspire young players and coaches.
It was the work with the Inner Mongolian Government Education Bureau – pilot province for football development in China and then subsequent expansion in to other areas of China that gained recognition.
An ongoing relationship between Tranmere and China sees a number of coaches from both continents travel back and forth throughout the year to share and expand their skills.
ISA deliver across three themes: Football Elite Development, Football Tourism, and Football Education for coaches and players. Their coaches have been over to China to train both grassroots and elite level players and coaches.
They also delivered FA Foundation Coaching Badges to five cohorts of Inner Mongolian coaches at The Campus, our elite training faciltiy.
In November 2018, a team of Indonesian International stars came over from Surabaya to experience life at a professional club –living and training with the Tranmere Rovers first team for a month.
The Academy has now expanded to the United States, where footballing scholarships and enterprise is bigger than ever. The ISA has grown rapidly since 2016, with new partnerships emerging from North American colleges and the Indonesian-Surabayan Government”
Emma Palios, International Development Manager at Tranmere Rovers, said:
“We are really honoured to receive silver in the Rising Star award from the Department of International Trade Greater China Awards. Not only is it a testament to the hard-work and dedication of the coaches and staff, but also the quality delivery of our football development and coach education programmes.
The North West is a footballing hotbed with so much culture and history unique to anywhere else in the world. Tranmere Rovers, being a professional club with a long history and reputation for player development itself, showcases this to put Wirral and the North-West on the map as a football tourism and elite development destination.
We are looking forward to the further successful cooperation with our Chinese partners and future collaboration in new international markets.”
With winners on the night including Liverpool Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and ATG, it has put the Tranmere Rovers International Soccer Academy in a great position to expand and continue links in the future months – watch this space!