Oldham Athletic Community Trust joined 52 other community schemes in Nottingham for the Premier League Kicks Cup.
In total 77 teams took part in the competition with over 600 young people representing clubs from up and down the country.
Premier League Kicks aims to support Sport England’s aim to take sport to where people are, enabling clubs to work with young people that may have previously been difficult to engage with.
Football is the primary focus but the vibrant nature of the programme has enhanced its appeal to young people by offering a multi sports element with more than 35 other sports being delivered across the project.
The Community Trust’s Kicks project regularly works with upto 400 young people per week. The project utilises local facilities for local people to enjoy, with young people offered a safe environment to participate in sport and to socialise with friends.
The team representing Oldham Athletic, sponsored by Polyflor, consisted of participants from Oldham Athletic Community Trust’s Kicks Project and on this occasion the young people selected were from the Thursday night Kicks session held at St Martins in Fitton Hill.
The Polyflor sponsored team that travelled down to London was:
• Jordan Davies (GK)
• Sean Edwards (C)
• Jaimie Dalloway
• Terry Brenner
• Conor Jones
• Nyle Harrop
• Keaton Carter
In total the team played five matches resulting in a total of nine points, in fact the only defeat of the day came to eventual semi-finalists Watford.
A 4th place finish sadly meant that team didn’t progress from the group stages however the whole team can be proud of their efforts and conduct, both on and off the pitch. A full breakdown of the results was:
• v Watford 0-1
• v QPR 0-0
• v Leeds United 1-0
• v Swansea City 0-0
• v Crawley Town 5-0
Martin Vose, OACT Community Manager said: “The Kicks Cup is a huge day in the Kicks calendar, for some of the participants in our programme it’s all they talk about for months in the lead up to the day.
“It offers young people from Oldham a chance to meet young people from around the country and represent their town on a national scale.
“As a Community Trust we aim to provide positive opportunities through sport as days such as the Kicks Cup play a significant role in achieving this aim.”
Oldham Athletic Community Trust as always would like to thank Polyflor for their continued support of the Kicks project and also the Kicks team. Thanks to the support of Polyflor additional experiences for the participants, such as the Kicks Cup, are made possible.
For more information on the work Oldham Athletic Community Trust delivers please email: martin.vose@oldhamathletic.co.uk.