The diirector of soccer initiatives of the AIA Group, Adrian New, who was at the scene, said the company has been using its strategic position as a global partner of Tottenham Hotspur, a London-based world-class soccer club, to organize the training camp, dubbed the AIA Elite Football Training Camp, with the global development coach of Tottenham Hotspur to encourage potential talents to progress.

“I have seen so many talents during the training sessions. It is expected that they are going to use the experiences here to develop themselves in the future,” he told The Jakarta Post on Friday during the signing ceremony between Persija Jakarta and PT AIA Indonesia.

The head of brand and communications of PT AIA Indonesia, Kathryn Monika Parapak, said the specific reason why PT AIA Indonesia opted to offer sponsorship to the women's soccer club was that some of the members used to play in the AIA Championship.

“We know some of the members, including what they are capable off. Right now, we want to witness their progress in their careers. We took that under consideration before we decided on the sponsorship for Persija Jakarta,” she said.

Before entering the professional soccer league as a member of Persija Jakarta’s female soccer team, some of the players was a member of the Drupadi team, which won both an AIA Championship in Bangkok and in London this year.

Persija’s business and marketing director, Andhika Suksmana, praised the cooperation, saying that the three-day camp has allowed a huge rejuvenation for the squad amidst the current competition.

“The squad learns so much while training here, new strategies, finding new friendship. They are also being introduced to a healthy lifestyle, which hopefully they could still follow once they are not here,” he said.

In harmony with Andhika’s statement, player Carla Bio Pattinasarany said she enjoyed her time during the training and the only thing she would complain about was the short duration.

“I have been learning many useful things here, enjoying my time as well. I hope that we could stay longer so we could achieve more,” she said.

Coach Anton Blackwood, one of the Tottenham Hotspur coaches, praised the team members, saying they have been making progress during the training.

"They still have a lot of chances ahead of them. As long as they keep making progress then they are going to be better players," he said.

There are 24 players who belong to the club and another 12 players who came through an AIA internal selection. In total, 110 soccer players were brought to Phuket this year.

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