Louis Saha, Heskey and Smicer lead football coaching camps at Cypriot resort

Louis Saha, Emile Heskey, Wes Brown, Jermaine Pennant, Vladimir Smicer and Joe Ledley: several former Premier League players are running football coaching camps at Aphrodite Hills Resort, a hotel complex located near Paphos, Cyprus.

Saha, who trained at Metz before establishing himself in England, will be involved from August 17 to 21. The French striker won two Premier League titles and a Ligue des Champions with Manchester United, following spells at Fulham and Everton. He joins Emile Heskey, the emblematic centre-forward of the 2000s who earned 62 caps for England, and Wes Brown, who also played at Old Trafford.

The lineup extends beyond former Manchester United players. Jermaine Pennant, a winger who played alongside Thierry Henry at Arsenal, is also present, as is Vladimir Smicer, the Czech midfielder who came to prominence at RC Lens and won the Ligue des Champions in 2005 with Liverpool. Joe Ledley, who led Wales to the Euro 2016 semi-finals against Portugal, completes the group.

These Football Coaching Camps cater to both young people and adults. They are part of the expanded sports offering at Aphrodite Hills Resort, which also provides golf, tennis and padel — three padel courts were recently inaugurated alongside nine tennis courts. Former Chelsea and West Ham striker Carlton Cole had already led a similar camp at the venue.

Cyprus, a former British colony, has become a popular destination for British and Irish holidaymakers, which partly explains the appeal of these initiatives combining sport and leisure in a Mediterranean setting.