Cameras Rolling For International Academy

The 16 young Thai students – the first intake into the Club’s newly established international development programme – have been working to a busy schedule since their arrival in the UK in January, coupling a varied training programme and friendly matches with an education syllabus delivered by Ratcliffe College.
Thursday afternoons have provided plenty of variety for the young players in recent weeks, as the break in their timetable allows them to take in a number of extra-curricular activities and Thursday’s visit to King Power Stadium was no different.
First the squad were invited to their maiden King Power Stadium photocall, where first team manager Nigel Pearson greeted them, before posing for individual and group photographs in their custom Leicester City International Academy kit.
Nigel was at King Power Stadium for his pre-match press conference ahead of the weekend trip to Tottenham Hotspur in the Barclays Premier League. That was the next port of call for the International Academy group, who observed proceedings in the Media Suite, gaining some valuable insight as the Foxes boss fielded questions from national and local media.
It was then on to a stadium tour with Club Historian and Archivist John Hutchinson, who guided the young players around the many historical artefacts housed in the stadium to tell some of the most important stories in Leicester City history.
“It was a really productive afternoon for the boys,” said Leicester City Director of Football Jon Rudkin – a central figure in the development of the International Academy.
“Their stay in the UK is as much about being an educational experience as it is a footballing one and days like this give them a different insight into life at Leicester City.
“The Club’s heritage is something we have always been very proud of and is a big part of Leicester’s footballing culture, so it’s an important part of their learning. For the boys to also experience part of a live press conference is extremely valuable too, as it gives them an idea of the international media demands that come with being a Premier League football club.”
Great progress has been made with the young players during the first two months in the UK, both on and off the pitch. While much of their early classroom time has been devoted to improving their mastery of the English language, their acclimatisation to English football is gathering considerable pace.
Eleven-a-side matches against the likes of Coventry City, Portsmouth and Chesterfield have seen Rodney Ballantine’s side produce some highly encouraging displays, while fostering a team spirit that will be of great importance during their two-and-a-half-year stay in the UK.
The technical qualities that made several of them stand out during the programme’s intense selection process have also been on show in smaller formats of the game, including a recent futsal match against representatives from the LCFC Community Trust’s BTEC Education & Futsal programme.
“We knew from the selection process that these players would bring a great deal of technical quality to the programme,” said Jon.
“What we couldn’t have anticipated was how quickly they would bond as a group and begin to play as a team.
“One of the major footballing objectives for the whole programme is to develop a level of tactical understanding and game management to complement the development of their existing technical skills. To see them taking steps in the right direction at this early stage is extremely encouraging.”
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