MALAYSIAN COACH TO VISIT CHELSEA

Chelsea Football Club have invited the Malaysian national coach to London as part of the club's ongoing commitment to assist Asian football.

The invitation was confirmed at a press conference earlier today in Kuala Lumpur when the Samsung Chelsea Asia Tour 2008 was announced.

A match against a Malaysian Selection, taken from the best Malaysian players in the country's Super League is currently scheduled for July 29. Another match will be announced tomorrow with the likelihood of a third game to follow.

The visit invitation followed discussions between Chelsea FC chief executive Peter Kenyon and the deputy president of the Football Association of Malaysia, Encik Khairy Jamaluddin.

Kenyon and Jamaluddin were joined for the press conference by the Malaysian national coach Sathianathan Bhaskran who will manage the selection team against Chelsea.

He will visit Cobham to observe first team training and discuss coaching, preparation and other issues with Avram Grant and first team staff in August.

Kenyon said: 'We will be delighted to host Mr Bhaskran. He will have met us during our time in Kuala Lumpur and soon after will come to London.

'I think this demonstrates that Chelsea is serious about playing a role in the development of Asian football.'

This initiative is the latest Chelsea has launched in the region.

Last year we became the first major club to sign a partnership with the Asian Football Confederation as the Official Football Development Partner of the confederation's Vision China grass roots project, a key part of the larger Vision Asia programme.

So far Chelsea has helped launch four of the planned 10 Vision China city leagues, in Chengdu, Nanjing, Wuhan and Qingdao and another is coming soon in Zibo.

We have also agreed to be the exclusive football club partner of a grass roots talent search in southern China.

The Super Soccer Star television show will be broadcast in the province of Guangdong in April with the four finalists destined to visit Chelsea's world renowned Academy and Stamford Bridge later in the summer.

The club is also a sponsor of the International Football Arena Beijing, the leading independent forum for debate amongst the game's leading figures and Chelsea has also had preliminary discussions with All India Football Federation about exploring ways of working together.

The tour will be the first time Chelsea has played in Asia since May 2005 when the opponents were the Suwon Bluewings, the K League team owned by sponsors Samsung.

Chelsea also took part in the FA Premier League Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur in the summer of 2003