Footballers Targeted For Olympic Switch
Young footballers released early from club academies are being urged to switch to alternative Olympic sports.
UK Sport and the English Institute of Sport is inviting players aged 18-22 to attend two Olympic Talent Assessment Events in July.
It is part of a Pitch2Podium programme aimed at discovering medal-winning for the London Games in 2012.
‘Football is the largest hot-bed of athletic talent in England,’ said UK Sport’s Chelsea Warr.
‘Many of these players leaving the professional game would have already developed the ready-made skills and abilities we’d be looking for. These, along with the right coaching and support system, would give them the potential to be fast-tracked toward the medal rostrum in 2012.’
Backed by the Football Association, the Premier League, the Football League and the Professional Footballers’ Association, the programme is focused on players who have not yet secured a professional football contract.
More than 1,000 have already been invited to next month’s events and, if successful, they will continue through to further, more sport specific events.
