As part of the tour, sessions based at our Cobham training ground were delivered by Chelsea Foundation coaches and Academy coach Andy Ottley, plus one fixture against our Foundation development team and another versus Josh Evans Soccer Academy.

To further enhance the experience for the tour group, the Foundation offered player development workshops and an education presentation from Alfie Butwell, senior E&D officer for the Foundation education department, based around Black History Month.

Other elements of the trip saw the group travel to Stamford Bridge for a stadium tour, also catching a glimpse of the Chelsea's development squad playing against Leicester City at Kingsmeadow. Away from the pitch, the group went on a historic sightseeing tour of London and enjoyed team bonding bowling at Guildford Spectrum.

Across 10 days of on and off-field activities, senior programme manager for the Foundation international department, Chris Woodward, was delighted to welcome their first international visitors to the UK since the Covid pandemic and looks forward to hosting other groups in the future.

‘Now that travel restrictions have opened up globally, it was fantastic to host International Soccer Academy from Perth, Australia at Chelsea Football Club. This was our first travelling group to the UK since the pandemic and it was great to give the players and coaches an insight into Chelsea FC.

‘They received workshops on player development, match preparation and important initiatives from our education team, training sessions based at the Chelsea training ground and fixtures against our Foundation development squads. The players really got to see the Chelsea environment and what it is like to be an academy player at Chelsea Football Club.

‘Off the pitch, the group also got to see our development squad play Leicester City, and received a behind-the-scenes stadium tour of Stamford Bridge, along with seeing iconic landmarks around London during a sightseeing tour. The group truly received an authentic Chelsea FC experience during their stay, and we hope to have more groups visit in the near future.’

Latishna Elijah, academy director at International Soccer Academy, reflected fondly on the lessons and memories the young players have taken away from their time at Chelsea.

‘The Chelsea FC Foundation team provided a fantastic Chelsea experience for our Academy kids. The highlights were training at Cobham, playing competitive games and giving an opportunity to the youth on how to grow as a player, understanding how to develop to get better, improve your game and take these learnings to your team wherever you play.

‘This really was an experience of a lifetime. We look forward to working more closely with the Chelsea FC Foundation. A great club with a great family environment. They really made us feel at home.’