An enthralling display of football talent by young Cameroonians to mark the launch of the second phase of Premier Skills, a British project that uses football to enhance community development in 15 countries, took place at the exquisite multipurpose sports complex in Yaoundé on 12 February 2011. Cameroon’s Sports Minister Michel Zoah launched the project.

Meanwhile, British High Commissioner to Cameroon, HE Bharat Joshi, who was visibly blown by the enthusiasm shown by the little boys and girls reached by the project, said they should take the opportunity to attain the levels already attained by Cameroonian-born Arsenal player Alexandre Song and football sensation Samuel Eto’o.

British Council Director Paul Norton enumerated several success stories already happening from the Premier Skills project in Cameroon – stories of coaches engaging schools and youth clubs in community service for street children and tree planting and the training of other coaches in communication, team building and planning skills.

The Premier skills project team to Cameroon consists of prominent FIFA referee Keith Hackett and community coaches from Everton, West Ham FC and Tottenham Hotspur in the UK. They are training 30 coaches and 30 referees to teach practical football skills to Cameroonian children and use football for community development.

This world-wide project has already reached 300 thousand young people around the world. It aims to reach another 300 thousand.