Local club hoping to find next Asian football star, as a coach or a player

R77 Soccer School continues to go from strength to strength and hope to find the next Asian star – both as a player and a coach.

The brainchild of Ridhwaan ‘Ruudy’ Yusuf, the club have youngsters from as young as three up to the age of 13.

What makes R77 stand out, though, is their policy on coaches — recruiting them from as young as 16.

And Yusuf believes having young coaches will help the club in its aim of encouraging more Asian youngsters in Newham to get into football.

“We pride ourselves on being one of the first Asian establishments in Newham where by we recruit coaches from the age of 16,” he said.

“We allow youngsters who love the game to come in and learn and develop some knowledge before they go on to get their qualifications.

“It keeps the age gap between our coaches and kids to a minimal so both can relate to one another.”

As well as the age of their coaches grabbing the attention, some of the youngsters on R77’s books have also attracted interest.

Several players from the school have had trials with Premier League clubs, while another will take part in Chelsea’s Asian Star 2017

next month.

And Yusuf hopes this is just the tip of the iceberg and that R77 can continue to unearth talented youngsters in the local area for years to come.

“We hope to cross that bridge of participation to making it pro,” he said.

“We devise a curriculum strictly for development but this isn’t just related to football.

“We ask our boys to problem solve and build their character during their time with us as we know 10-15 years down the line if these boys haven’t made it they may also be our future coaches.”

Away from the pitch, the club also informs their young players about the importance of fundraising, with R77 helping Abdullah Aid.

The Soccer School has raised £7,500 so far, which will allow Abdullah Aid to have a footballing set-up within a school at an orphanage in Tanzania.

The club also recently held its end of season awards ceremony, with plenty of prizes handed out for a string of stellar displays this season.

And R77 will hope to be toasting more success in the near future, both on the pitch and off of it.

For more information about R77, visit r77official.com or alternatively search for the club on social media.