Chelsea and the 49ers come together to work with children

Chelsea and the 49ers come together to work with children

The Chelsea Foundation joined forces with the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers last week, to launch a unique educational programme for young people.

The first event of the partnership, which sees the Chelsea Foundation’s education department and their counterparts from California, 49ers EDU work together to bring science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) to local children, took place at Stamford Bridge on last Wednesday and Thursday. Teachers from 49ers EDU travelled to Stamford Bridge to develop and execute the free two-day programme aimed at inspiring children aged 9-10 to explore the concepts of STEM, as it relates to the game of American football. Across the two days, more than 100 children from London learned about the evolution of football equipment and the similarities to what is used in American football, as well as the physics involved in sport and a general introduction to the NFL and American football as a whole. Among those in attendance to witness events unfold was Chelsea Chairman, Bruce Buck, and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in London, Lewis Lukens.

Chelsea Chairman, Buck said: “Every day of the week we are working with young people and adults but I think it is very interesting for us to see how another team and sport handles their education activities, so we can learn from them and continue to improve what we are doing.”

The final session of each day took on a more practical feel, as representatives of NFL UK took the youngsters through some American football specific drills.

Good start in London, next event in San Francisco 

Next month, the 49ers and the Blues plan to bring a similar STEM-focused programme to San Francisco as part of the partnership. The goal in so doing is to extend the impact of the partnership and bring additional learning opportunities to the students, teachers and administrators in the regions in which both clubs play.

Chelsea Foundation head of education, Matt Mead said: “It has been a fantastic event in London as we bring STEM learning and combine it with American football and our own game, for the benefit of the children. Unfortunately schools can’t always focus on STEM teaching so we aim to work with and compliment the schools, by allowing the children to learn about science, technology, engineering and maths through sport, whether that be designing a football or coding for a club’s website.”

The new partnership is another step forward in the work of the Chelsea Foundation. Formed in 2010, the Chelsea Foundation brings together the Football in the Community and the Education department along with the club’s other charitable and community activities, including environment and anti-discrimination projects.