Oxford United in the Community today joined the 72 English Football League club’s charities in highlighting the work of done to help tackle some of society’s biggest issues.
Today clubs across the Championship, League One and League Two hosted events for the EFL’s Day of Action 2019. The day is designed to showcase the very best of their work to tackle a diverse range of social issues, including mental health and community cohesion.
Oxford United in the Community hosted a special Premier League Primary Stars session at Bure Park Primary School, Bicester, to help inspire local children via the specialist football course. The charity’s community coaches combine football sessions with therapeutic intervention to help build participants’ self-confidence.
The scheme, which is funded by the Premier League, uses the appeal of the league and professional football to insure children to learn, be active and develop important life skills.
Learning is connected to the real world of sport to enthuse pupils when tackling challenging topics such as resilience, diversity, self-esteem and fair-play. Maths and English teaching are included in the sessions.
Alex Blane, Lead Coach at Oxford United in the Community said: “Premier League Stars is a highly effective course that teaches children a variety of life skills. We’ve seen the impact it has on children and the positive changes it is delivering on a consistent basis.”
Chris Lowes, Head of Oxford United in the Community, said: “We’re proud to support the EFL Day of Action and help highlight the vital work every Football League club’s community teams are doing up and down the country on a daily basis.”
Greig Box Turnbull, Vice Chair of Trustees at Oxford United in the Community said: “Our Premier League Stars programme is just one of many ways in which the charity supports people in our community. All our courses are carefully designed to provide specialist support that makes a positive difference to as many participants as possible. The work that is done by EFL club’s charities is simply inspiring and we will be using today to make sure it inspires our team to develop our offering further going forward.”
Shaun Harvey, EFL CEO said: “The EFL Day of Action brings together all 72 Clubs to highlight the special role they play in enhancing the lives of millions of people around the country.
“The scale of ground-breaking projects across our network of Clubs continues to grow year-on-year and their delivery is integral to our aims of improving lives in a range of areas including inclusion, homelessness, education and health.”
Oxford United in the Community helps inspire youngsters to reach their potential and improve their health and wellbeing via the power of football, engagement and education. The coaching staff deliver programmes in nursery and primary schools across Oxfordshire. They are qualified not only in football coaching, but in teaching interventions including Real PE, which focuses on the development of agility, balance and coordination, healthy competition and cooperative learning. The charity also delivers the popular Manor Club to the over 50’s to help tackle isolation in the older community. Oxford United in the Community is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary.