ProTouch Soccer Academy a community interest football academy based at Market Road in Islington London will continue to welcome young players from the Uganda Youth Soccer Academy as they look to build bridges across the world.
During recent football tournaments in Denmark, Pro Touch director Ash Rahman met Ivan Kakembo who runs the Uganda Youth Soccer Academy in Kampala Uganda.
Together they devised plans to offer proffesional football training exchange opportunities that will see some of the top players from Uganda come to Camden to spend time with youngsters at Pro Touch, a move that Ash believes is vital in helping produce better footballers.
“By forming partnerships with other academies we can learn new training methods and develop a greater understanding on how children from all over the world see football. I also think that by spending time together off the pitch our players will become less blinded by the glitz and glamour that today’s top stars put across.
“Hopefully our players will become more appreciative of the facilities that they have available to them within Camden and Islington,” he added.
The quality of the goals and the artificial pitches at Market Road have often come under scrutiny by visiting coaches and players. But they would be “a dream” back in Uganda according to Uganda Youth Soccer Academy chief executive officer and co-founder Ivan Kakembo.
“Back home children play on dusty pitches, not grass or Astroturf. We have a few cones, and wooden goals that we made ourselves. That’s it.
“It is an honour to be invited over to train with such a well organised academy,” he added.
“Thanks to the heart of parents back home and their donations, we are sometimes blessed to be able to give our children the chance to play and train in Europe.
“They are good players and if we are lucky maybe they will get spotted by a professional club and given the opportunity to prove themselves on the international scene.”
This partnership will continue to allow some of Uganda Youth Soccer Academy young stars to do just that. Pro Touch has invited coaches from the Uganda Soccer Academy to bring a group of players back next summer to take part a series of friendly matches against youth teams from professional clubs.
Pro Touch Soccer Academy partnership with Uganda Youth Soccer Academy continues to grow.
