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CHELSEA IN ISRAEL: BREAKING BORDERS

/noticias.info/ The Chelsea adventure in the Middle East continued on Thursday as the travelling group of players and staff spent the day coaching at the Davis-Lewis centre in Jaffa, Israel.

Having made the short flight from Jordan to Tel Aviv yesterday evening, it was down to work this afternoon, with reserve team players Sergio Tejera, Shaun Cummings, Michael Woods and Carl Magnay lending a hand to the Academy and Community coaches.

They were also joined briefly by Avram Grant, who came to show his support for the visit, and the mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Ron Huldai.

The mayor presented Academy manager Neil Bath with a plaque to commemorate the visit, and in return was given a new 2008/9 Chelsea shirt with his name on the back.

It was a busy day for the media too, with various Israeli film crews covering the event, as well as Army radio, who interviewed Bath.

The focus today was on using football as a vehicle to bring people from different communities together, with Arab and Jewish children mixed together throughout the session. It is hoped that by showing and teaching this integration at a young age, unity will be further achieved in the future.

Speaking to chelseafc.com, the mayor, pictured with Bath, explained the magnitude of Chelsea's visit, and why our work is so vital.

'It's important for a lot of reasons, the British coming here to be with us is a great goodwill gesture, and it encourages more young kids to play soccer, with Arabs and Jews playing together,' he began.

'It builds bridges and breaks borders, helping them understand everyone is a human being. Football can be a very good tool when used like this.'

The first of two sessions, held from 4-6pm, was held in intense Mediterranean heat, but that did not impede on anybody's enthusiasm.

There were similar activities to yesterday's coaching masterclass in Jordan, with over 100 children split into groups to work on a range of skills. There were also mini games featuring plenty of goals.

The second session was carried out under floodlights under the gaze of a large group of Israeli coaches, looking to learn techniques from their English counterparts.

The football was of a high standard, using three under-16 teams - players just a couple of years younger than the Chelsea professionals present.

Tejera, who yesterday turned 18, celebrating with a cake from the Jordanian Right to Play staff, discussed the enjoyment he has taken from helping out with the coaching over the past three days, and believes some memories will be with him a long time.

'I have never done it before, it is good, the last two days in Jordan and now being here is fantastic as an experience.

'When we went to the school in Jordan and were playing football with the kids was very nice, and a special thing to remember,' he smiled.

When the trip concludes tomorrow, the Spaniard will be bound for his home city of Barcelona, something he is looking forward to after a long campaign.

'I will be home for a couple of days and then I am going to Mallorca for a couple of days and then back to Barcelona to stay with my family', he said, before reflecting on the last nine months.

'It has been a good season, with the reserves we didn't finish as well as we hoped after starting well, but with the youth team too we had a good year, getting to the final of the Youth Cup. We lost the final but it was a very good experience for all of the team.'

The word 'experience' is something the Chelsea youngsters will be saying a lot of when they each return home from Israel, with all of them having spoken of good times this past week.

Having helped to show that football can be more than just a sport, and helped improve the lives of hundreds of children in such a short space of time, they have earned their summer break.

You will be able to see more from the trip to the Middle East exclusively on Chelsea TV, who have accompanied the group for the entire tour. notas_de_prensa_archivo