Budding stars to visit Wembley Stadium, David Beckham Academy, West Ham United and Dagenham and Redbridge FC

The cream of Bangladesh’s young football talent will be in the UK for three weeks from Sunday 26 October as part of the Bangladesh Youth Football Development Programme, which is run by Canary Wharf Group plc to develop future football stars from Bangladesh.

The Programme, which is supported by Emirates and the Clifton Group, sees 23 of the most talented under 15 year-olds in Bangladesh, accompanied by their coaching staff, take part in an intensive three-week playing and training programme, including visits to West Ham United, Dagenham and Redbridge FC and the David Beckham Academy.

The programme is endorsed by the FA, which has arranged a visit to Wembley Stadium and will be presenting each of the players with an England shirt.

Zakir Khan, Canary Wharf Group’s Community Affairs Manager and driving force behind the Programme said:

“Our programme initially attracted over 6,000 young players from all corners of Bangladesh representing different social, religious and economic backgrounds. We have now identified and developed the best of the players for the trip to London.

“It will be a life changing experience for them; we already have professional clubs in Bangladesh queuing up to sign them when they return. However the benefits are much wider than those gained by the players themselves. When these boys succeed, they inspire those from similar backgrounds to emulate them.

“For years Canary Wharf Group has looked to use sport to inspire young people in the local community to success. This programme is a great example of improving people’s lives through sport and Canary Wharf Group is proud to support it.”

The Development Programme is founded upon offering opportunities, while encouraging discipline and aspirational thinking. It links East and West and aims to enable more players of Bangladeshi origin to play professional football both in the UK and internationally, and to help improve the standards of the domestic game, which is a national passion. It is one of a number of initiatives in Canary Wharf Group’s community programme including Skillsmatch, East London Business Place and the Summer Sports Programme.

The links forged by football with communities, both in London and Bangladesh, strengthen cultural ties and are a force for positive change. The Programme aims to inspire a generation to succeed both in Britain and Bangladesh.

Anwar Uddin, captain of Dagenham and Redbridge FC and the only professional footballer of Bangladeshi descent in the UK, said:

“The academy is a great thing for Bangladesh for more than just footballing reasons. It provides an opportunity for kids in a third world country to realise a dream that seemed so far from reality. It binds the east and west and will contribute to the rise of Bangladeshi football.”

Jim Fitzpatrick, MP for Poplar and Canning Town also commended the initiative:

“I am very much aware that Canary Wharf Group are a major corporate sponsor of grass-roots sport in Tower Hamlets. This is another wonderful initiative by Canary Wharf Group and one that not only will be very successful but also will contribute significantly towards the social and economic status of these young players and their families.”

27 October 2 November    Coaching sessions    11am-2pm    Victoria Park

30 October    Visit to Wembley Stadium     3.15pm    Wembley

31 October    Match v Bethnal Green United     7pm    Mile End Stadium

1 November    Visit to watch Dagenham and Redbridge FC v Accrington Stanley    3pm
Victoria Road Stadium

3-7 November    Coaching sessions with West Ham United coaching staff    
11am-1pm    Beckton

6 November    Match v West Ham United Under 15s    2pm kick-off    
Little Heath Training Ground, Chadwell Heath

10-13 November    Coaching sessions with David Beckham Academy staff    
10am-1pm    David Beckham Academy, North Greenwich

12 November    Match v Dagenham & Redbridge Under 15s    
7pm Kick-off    Victoria Road Stadium


History of the Youth Football Development Programme

The pioneering Youth Football Development Programme was launched in Dhaka on 6th August 2006.
The opening was attended by the British High Commissioner to Dhaka, the President of the Bangladesh Football Federation and the representatives of the 12 professional football clubs in BangladeshOver 6,000 young players from all corners of Bangladesh representing different social, religious and economic backgrounds applied for the Programme
Tower Hamlets has the largest concentration of Bangladeshis in the country
Tower Hamlets has the youngest population of any borough with the average age in the mid-20s and sport, and football in particular, is a great way to get young people engaged and involved

The Team

A range of organisations have been brought together by Canary Wharf Group to make this programme a success. These include the David Beckham Academy, West Ham United and Dagenham and Redbridge Football Clubs, the FA, the Clifton Group, Emirates, Wembley Stadium and the Bangladesh Football Federation.
The official ambassador for the programme is former West Ham player and current captain of Dagenham and Redbridge FC, Anwar Uddin, who is currently the only professional footballer in the UK of Bangladeshi origin.
The programme is also strongly supported by Jim Fitzpatrick, MP for Poplar and Canning Town and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Canary Wharf Group Community Involvement

Canary Wharf Group has been involved with the Bangladesh Youth Development Programme from the beginning as one of its many local community projects, and has pledged involvement until 2010.
Other Canary Wharf Group community initiatives include:
sponsoring ten promising local athletes who have the potential to represent Great Britain at the London 2012 Olympics;
the summer sports programme, which saw the involvement of over 2,000 local children in 2007
work placements for local schoolchildren, and education grants to Tower Hamlets residents
the continuing success of Skillsmatch, a joint initiative founded in 1997 between CWG and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, has placed local people into over 4,951 jobs.
The Local Business Liaison Office, which has been instrumental in the placing of over £46 million of business locally in 2007 and over £532m since its inception in 1997.

About Canary Wharf Group plc

The prime business function of CWG is the building and leasing of Grade A office and retail space at its 97 acre estate in East London (“the Estate”). Over the last twenty years it has constructed more office space in London than any other property group totalling over 14 million sq. ft of commercial space. The development now comprises 33 office buildings and over 200 shops, bars and restaurants within four retail malls. It also has conference and event centres, two Docklands Light Railways stations, a Jubilee Line station, car parks and approximately 20 acres of landscaped open spaces.

CWG owns completed properties amounting to approximately 7.9 million sq ft. CWG also owns and controls the retail space (approximately 740,000 sq ft), Wintergardens (40,000 sq ft) and public parking, (approx. 1.5m sq ft) as well as the roads (totalling 6.8 km) and parks and open spaces on the Estate (totalling 382,900 sq ft) in addition to land held for future development. It is through this ownership and the management of the entire 97 acre Estate that CWG controls the integrity of the Estate which enhances the value of the whole.