League Football Education is providing 13 EFL and PFA coaches with the opportunity to experience new ideas and methods of developing young players with a trip to Spain, fully subsidised by the Erasmus+ fund.
LFE’s Coaches Trip will include the chance to spend time at La Liga clubs Athletic Bilbao, Eibar and Real Sociedad, as well as some local teams, allowing those involved to learn new techniques and gain an understanding of the philosophy and training environment in the country.
The programme has enabled over 20 coaches across three previous trips to broaden their knowledge, while it has also created long-lasting relationships between the two cultures, such as collaboration between Accrington Stanley and Real Betis.
LFE Project Coordinator Kelly Butterworth said: “LFE is excited to take another group of coaches and Academy managers to Spain for the fourth occasion, this time exploring the Basque region.
“The recruitment and youth development philosophy of Athletic Bilbao is particularly unique and will be a notable opportunity for the coaches to immerse themselves in the environment and understand more about their culture for bringing through young players.
“Taking a large group allows this learning experience to benefit a number of EFL clubs across the country, as well as coach educators from The PFA, which should hopefully make a positive impact on this country’s Academy system.”
Coach Participants:
- Stuart English (Birmingham City)
- Tom Pell (Cambridge United)
- Tom Ramasut (Cardiff City)
- Liam Bailey (Colchester United)
- Jason Pearcey (Derby County)
- Matt Blinkhorn (Fleetwood Town)
- Neil Wainwright (Morecambe)
- Lewis Craig (Salford City)
- Rob Williams (Shrewsbury Town)
- Iain Sankey (The PFA)
- Stephen Torpey (The PFA)
- Kyle Kirby (Walsall)
- Peter Murphy (Wigan Athletic)
Keep up to date with coverage of the trip on LFE’s Twitter and Instagram pages, or search the hashtag #LFECoachTrip.
