YCIS Pudong Partners with Glasgow Rangers

Written by: Damien Hehir, Co-Principal

During February, we were very proud to announce to the YCIS Pudong community that we have formed a new partnership with the Glasgow Rangers Football Club. Starting in April, YCIS Pudong will become the exclusive host school of the Rangers Academy in Shanghai.

Families who have been a part of the school community in recent years have seen YCIS Pudong make significant improvements to the sports programmes on offer. This has included putting in place a thriving swimming programme, building a competitive football programme for the Primary school, and opening up our campuses on Saturdays for our students and their families to join in a number of sporting activities. The school has been continually looking to grow our sports programme and the opportunities we provide for our students.

The Glasgow Rangers, commonly known as Rangers, are one of the oldest and most successful professional football clubs in the world. The club, currently managed by Steven Gerrard – who captained Liverpool and England – is one of the most recognisable names in the game.  Rangers have a record 54 Scottish League Championships, 33 Scottish Cup wins, 27 Scottish League Cup wins, one European Cup Winners’ Cup victory and three major European cup finals.

We were thrilled to welcome visitors from Glasgow Rangers to YCIS Pudong from February 19 – 21 so that the school and club could officially launch the programme. The Rangers Soccer Schools Manager, Gary Gibson came to Shanghai along with Ross Fawcett, a UEFA B licensed coach. Gary will continue to liaise with the school and provide support for the academy programme, and Ross will be the coach of the Rangers Academy.  Ross and Gary led coaching clinics in the PE classes from Years 3-10, ran a session with our Senior Boys and Girls, and met with parents at the ‘POP-In’ gathering. There were many opportunities for photos and autographs, and the students (and a number of staff) were very excited!

The YCIS Pudong Football Programme and Rangers Academy

Commencing in April, the Rangers Academy based at YCIS Pudong, Regency Park Campus, will offer coaching of the highest level to students from early years through Year 13. Their inclusive programme is overseen by UFEA B Licensed coaches and will give our students the chance to really progress in a thriving, motivating, and challenging environment. The Rangers Academy will be opened to the wider Shanghai community; however, YCIS families will be given priority placement and discounted fees. As the Rangers Academy Teams continue to develop, there will be matches arranged against other clubs in Shanghai, particularly at Century Park Campus where our football pitches will be developed over the summer.

YCIS Pudong students, parents, and coaches will also benefit from this partnership. As part of the arrangement, the coaches from the Rangers Academy will also be an integral part of our YCIS Pudong football teams as well. As our teams grow, the desire for more access to high quality coaching does too. The Rangers coaches will be working with our teams, and providing support and guidance to our YCIS teachers and parent coaches. We see this as an excellent opportunity for the entire YCIS community.

You can learn more about the Rangers Football Club at their official website.  Our current CCA provider, Multisport, will be working with us as part of this partnership and will share information with YCIS Pudong parents about how to sign up and join the academy very soon.

We look forward to commencing this incredible partnership, and to seeing not only our YCIS Pudong football teams continue to develop strongly as a result, but also to being able to provide new opportunities for our families who are looking for an elite football programme for their children beyond the school teams.