The project, run by the Premier League in conjunction with the British Council, will work with a number of young people to enhance their football coaching skills and develop their English language ability.

Premier Skills is one of the Premier League's first international development football projects, having launched last season in Egypt, where two projects now exist in Cairo and Alexandria. After the week-long course starting on Monday February 4th in Delhi, Premier Skills will then also launch in Kolkata in March. Premier Skills in India will be run in conjunction with ESPN STAR Sports, the Premier League's television rights holder, and the All Indian Football Federation (AIFF).

Barton, who played nearly 400 games for Wimbledon, Newcastle United and Derby County and former Wimbledon and Jamaica international midfielder Earle, both have UEFA coaching qualifications and will lead a series of football coaching and skills sessions for the 40 local youth leaders. These will help them develop so they can continue to run football schemes to benefit their own communities for years to come.

In addition to the coaching sessions, the British Council will deliver intensive English language courses. The participants will be able to continue their language development after the week-long session has finished through the British Council's dedicated education resource website www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish

Premier League Chief Executive, Richard Scudamore said: "At home the Premier League and our clubs have a long-held commitment and reputation for investing in community and education programmes and given our popularity and success internationally we felt it only right to take this approach to a wider community.

"It is clear to us that there is a growing interest in football - and the Premier League - in India. Working with an organisation with the reputation the British Council has, as well as top coaches like Robbie Earle and Warren Barton, we intend to use this interest in the Premier League to help develop the core skills of local youth leaders for the long term benefit of their communities."

British Council Chair, Lord Kinnock, said: "This is a truly exciting, creative initiative. Football transcends race and language among people everywhere. By putting the British Council's experience and global network together with the Premier League's great know-how, we can reach countless young people and help to enhance their skills on the pitch, their self-development, and their understanding of other cultures."

ESPN STAR Sports Managing Director, Manu Sawhney said: "We are proud to partner with the Premier League in this unique initiative. Our strong relationship with them has been built on our commitment to grow the Premier League brand in India and across the region and we continue to build this through broadcast of over 250 live and same day telecast matches, production of over 350 hours of original football programming annually and through our unique grass roots programme targeting school children in India.

"We are committed to raise the awareness of this community project and create a positive impact amongst Indian youths. With the strong equity that our brands enjoy and the extensive reach of our network in India, we are confident of building this initiative, thus garnering maximum participation and exposure for the programme."

Premier Skills uses a number of innovative training tools to help aid participants' development. These include the 'Skill Factor' interactive training CD-Rom, which was designed by Dutch coach Michel Mommertz, who will be in Delhi himself to oversee a session on how to use Skill Factor. The CD-Rom breaks down how a player can complete a certain football technique by allowing the user to zoom in and out and watch a skill from different angles and in slow motion.

The course will also use a DVD of interviews with a number of the Premier League's top foreign players as an educational resource. The likes of Didier Drogba, Dirk Kuyt and Petr Cech are interviewed about their experience of living in the UK, adapting to a different culture and learning the English language.