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PL Kicks North West Kicks Cup

PL Kicks North West Kicks Cup

Sixteen young people from our Oldham Athletic Community Trust Premier League Kicks sessions joined us at the regional Premier League Kicks Cup last week, hosted by Preston North End Community and Education Trust, to represent Oldham Athletic in the prestigious competition.

Premier League Kicks:

Premier League Kicks uses the power of football and sport to inspire young people to reach their potential.

The programme creates opportunities for young people who are at risk of anti-social behaviour, youth violence and/or from high-need areas to regularly engage in football, sport, mentoring and personal development opportunities.

Launched in 2006 as a collaboration between the Premier League and the Metropolitan Police to create safer and more inclusive communities, Premier League Kicks has had a significant impact on people and places in the last 17 years.

Today, 90 clubs across the Premier League, English Football League and National League work with 36 police forces to provide young people with access to free weekly football sessions and education workshops in safe and supportive community environments.

More than half a million young people have benefited to date.

As part of an inclusive approach, the programme has increased its focus on engaging girls and disabled young people.

Around 20% of those working for clubs on the Premier League Kicks projects are former participants, providing young people with role models from whom they can learn and aspire to emulate.

You can read more about the national overview of Premier League Kicks here: Football Community Programme - Premier League Kicks

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The event was about more than just playing football, it provided a number of workshops for personal development for all the participants. These workshops focused on topics such as mental health awareness, Ramadan observance and an immersive blind football session led by England Men’s Blind footballer Azeem Amir were embedded into the days schedule. The workshops aimed to educate and inspire participants beyond the realm of football, emphasising the importance of wellbeing and inclusivity.

Our boys team was filled with 8 individuals who where fasting as part of their religion. During this month, Muslims observe a strict fast from dawn until sunset. They are not allowed to eat or drink (even water) during daylight hours. Fasting is a private act of worship bringing about nearness to God, as well as a form of spiritual discipline and a means to empathize with those less fortunate.

This provided and extra challenege for our boys team who didnt let it phase them as they ended the tournament in the semi finals missing out to Carlisle who topped the group staged, finishing in 4th place for the event!

Our girls team also had a very succesful tournament, finishing 3rd in the day after a semi final loss to Manchester United.

From everyone at Oldham Athletic Community Trust we would like to say a huge well done and congratulations to all our participants who took part in the event for their effort in all the workshops and for their performances on the pitch!

The presence of the Premier League Trophy added extra excitement to the day and we would like to thank PNE Community and Education Trust for hosting a fantastic event!

For more information on the locations and delivery of PL Kicks within Oldham, please email: enquiries@oact.org.uk