Tranmere Rovers and China. Not exactly a link you would expect to see. But Rovers have already spent the last few months in Inner Mongolia where they have been providing coaching to hundreds of children at a grass roots level.

China have huge plans for the game, with their president, Xi Jinping, revealing he wants them to win the World Cup by 2050. It’s an ambitious plan, but Tranmere chairman Mark Palios is doing what he can to try and help.

Over the last ten days, 25 coaches from China have been on the Wirral, gaining a qualification and learning how kids are taught over here. More are due to fly over in the coming months, and the summer camps for Chinese children will soon be set up at Solar Campus.

And that’s where our man Matt Jones went to find out what the current batch of coaches over from Inner Mongolia have been learning. He spoke to Rovers’ head of academy and recruitment, Lee Jones, as well as Robbie Bigland, their China Department manager, and the chairman himself, Mark Palios.

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