Burnley FC charity staff moving to China

Left to right: Chris Divers, Football Development Officer (China), Paul Wozny, Head of Football Development (Overseas) and Andrew Thomson, Football Development Officer (China).

Based in the city of Xiamen and working across the provinces of Fujian and Jiangxi, Chris Divers and Andrew Thomson will work closely will BFCitC’s official partner in South East Asia, PDC Sports, to support the delivery of a number of football-based programmes.

The exciting new development comes after numerous visits to China by Burnley FC in the Community’s Chief Executive Officer Neil Hart and Head of Football Development (Overseas), Paul Wozny to foster new working partnerships in the area and take brand-Burnley FC into new territories.

Chris Divers is a UEFA A licensed coach who has previously worked in the Academy systems at both Motherwell FC and Kilmarnock FC. Chris also has experiences of working overseas in a coaching capacity with Manchester City in the Community.

Andrew Thomson is a UEFA B licensed coach and a qualified teacher. Andrew’s overseas experiences also encompasses delivering community-based football activities in both the United States of America and India.

Neil Hart said: “This is a hugely exciting development in our work with overseas communities. Chris and Andrew come to us with fantastic experience in this field of work and we are confident they will carry out outstanding work in China.

“As a Premier League club that is ever-expanding in its global reach this is a timely opportunity to take the Burnley FC brand overseas and deliver community football to a brand new market.

“I’d like to thank Adrian Choo, David Teo and David Shaen at PDC Sports for their brilliant support. We’re looking forward to this next chapter of our work in China.”

To find out more about the overseas work of Burnley FC in the Community, visit www.burnleyfccommunity.org/overseas.