The Premier League football club Manchester City (MCFC), is offering children around the world the chance to win a dream footballing lifestyle in association with their online coaching school at http://www.cityecademy.com.
Aspiring footballers will need to register and create a profile at cityecademy.com in order to demonstrate that they have the skills that MCFC is looking for to earn the life of a professional footballer.
Cityecademy allows players to go behind the scenes at MCFC’s Platt Lane, one of the world’s best training academies. The online coaching school includes videos of drills and skills demonstrated by MCFC players and academy players.
“I always wanted to be a footballer when I was growing up and now I’m living my dream. Joining the Platt Lane academy here at MCFC was a pivotal turning point that propelled me onto fulfilling my ambition of becoming a professional footballer, said Shaun Wright-Phillips, MCFC home grown talent and England international. “Cityecademy is offering the chance to taste a professional footballer’s life – it’s an amazing opportunity for young hopefuls who, like me, have dreams of playing in top flight football.”
By practising the skills showcased on cityecademy, young players from across the globe, including the USA, need to prove that they have what it takes to be the next Wright-Phillips and follow in his footsteps by earning a ‘pro’ title on cityecademy. Cityecademy players will earn points by watching drills and skills videos, recommending the cityecademy website to their friends and uploading their own videos to the site that show them performing the drills they have learned. The competition is open to enter from today until November 7, 2010 and players who graduate from the online academy with more than 500 points will be judged by the club and Academy and earn the chance to be entered into a drawing to win:
The chance of joining youth players at the real Platt Lane academy for an exclusive training session, a one-on-one meeting with the club’s first team players during an MCFC training session, and VIP treatment on a Premier League match day at the City of Manchester Stadium.
As the first of its kind, cityecademy offers a wide range of online and portable videos covering core football skills and training exercises that can be replicated in any coaching or recreational environment. The site is a 24 hour resource that has something for everyone with coaching videos covering the following areas:
Technical: Passing, Control, Passing and support, Turning, Dribbling, Running with the ball, Heading, Defending, Crossing and finishing, Shooting
Physical: Warm up, Agility, Endurance, Speed, Cool down
Goalkeeping: Basic handling, One player goalkeeping, Goalkeeping circle, Handling skills
“Cityecademy as an online coaching resource is beneficial whether you’re a young player, coach or a parent of a talented aspiring footballer,” said Jim Cassell, Manchester City FC’s Youth Academy Director. “My ambition is for the cityecademy coaching videos to help nurture the next generation of footballer’s around the world so that we can continue to discover and produce international stars of tomorrow, just like we did with Shaun.”
