Informative Vision in Football Session for Foundation Players

Informative Vision in Football Session for Foundation Players

The Aston Villa Foundation held an informative and entertaining session for its community team yesterday 26 August. One of the club’s health coaches led a training activity relating to vision in football. Colour blindness is one of the emerging issues in modern football, and it was one of the aspects tackled. The foundation held the session as one of the activities under the banner of the Premier League Communities Football Kicks programme.

Premier League Kicks has been working in local communities in England and Wales, for the last 13 years, to inspire thousands of young people. It started in 2006 and has a long history of using the power of football and the value of sports participation to help youngsters in some of the most high-need areas.

By engaging them in constructive activities, including a wide variety of sports, coaching, music and educational and personal development sessions, communities have been transformed with impressive football and sports participation rates and the authorities reporting significant reductions in anti-social behaviour in the areas in which it is delivered.

The programme started with four pilot projects, at Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Fulham and Brentford. Thanks to another three-year funding commitment from the Premier League, the programme has grown so that 90 Premier League, EFL and National League clubs deliver sport and education sessions at over 700 venues in local communities where projects are needed most.

Over 175,000 young people will engage in the programme between 2019-2022. The scheme has enabled thousands of youngsters to find routes into education, training and employment with volunteering being a key component. One of the key elements for the success of Kicks is the workforce, with 20 per cent of the coaching and delivery staff being former participants, often hailing from the same area in which they are now working.