AN EVENT which aims to inspire the next generation of football coaches is set to be held in Bradford.

The Coach Education Masterclass event, which takes place on Wednesday 13 April at Valley Parade, aims to help create new coaches and develop the skills of existing grassroots and professional coaches, providing football opportunities for the next generation.

Current and aspiring football coaches will be offered the opportunity to attend a masterclass with three qualified and experienced coaches: Danny Cadamateri, Academy coach at Sheffield Wednesday, coach at Bradford City Girls’ Juniors’ FC Samir Butt, and Heraa Noushahi of the Zesh Rehman Foundation, a charity which works to help change perceptions and myths surrounding British Asians in football.

These professionals will talk participants through training drills and offer tips and techniques when working with players from a range of ages and abilities.

Organiser, Dr Daniel Kilvington, Senior Lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies at Leeds Beckett University - which is funding the event - and trustee of the Zesh Rehman Foundation, said:“There has traditionally been a lack of grassroots football opportunities in inner city Bradford. If we are to change this, it is essential that we create more football coaches as these figures can make a real difference by creating opportunities for the next generation.

“Because there is also a lack of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) coaches within football, certainly within the professional game, we particularly welcome current and aspiring BAME coaches to attend although this is a free event and open to anyone to attend.

“There are coaching opportunities out there but many people are unaware of them. In the weeks and months following the event, it would be fantastic to see several new teams or clubs established within Bradford. Or, it would be excellent to see some of the participants take up volunteering or coaching positions with the events’ key partners.”

The Coach Education Masterclass, which has been funded by Leeds Beckett as part of its Y21 research project, aims to help create, inspire and encourage new coaches to step forward, in order to create opportunities for young girls and boys in the Bradford region. The event also welcomes current coaches who seek to enhance their skills by observing the professional coaches in action.

Guests will also have the opportunity to network with some of Bradford’s key figures from the coaching scene at Valley Parade. Representatives from the Zesh Rehman Foundation, the West Riding County FA, One in a Million, Bradford City Football in the Community and Shapla FC will each hold focus groups with participants explaining their work, their journeys and how to get involved.

The Y21 research project is led by the Centre for Culture and the Arts at Leeds Beckett and is currently investigating the potential culture has in changing the fortunes of a society and also shaping the lives of the individuals living within city regions in Yorkshire in the 21st century.

In March, Dr Kilvington launched his new book which explores the exclusion of British Asians from football and makes recommendations for achieving equality in the industry.

The book, ‘British Asians, Exclusion and the Football Industry’, presents Dan’s extensive new research collected from interviews with players, coaches, scouts, managers, fans, and anti-racist organisations and highlights both historical and current reasons for the exclusion of British Asians from football.

For more information or to take part, contact: d.j.kilvington@leedsbeckett.ac.uk