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Positive impact of football development programmes across college sector

03 March 2020

Thanks to our ongoing partnership with The FA, we are pleased to reveal the impact of our football development programmes across the college sector this season. In the first six months we have engaged 38,100 young people in activity through our FA College Grassroots Hubs across our three key strands: student, community and workforce. This has been achieved by working in collaboration with our 93 college hubs and community partners to design, support and deliver a football offer that serves both the college and their local community.

Key stats

  • 1,419 volunteers – encompassing activators, sports committees, coaches and officials supporting the delivery of football in college.
  • 12 Colleges hosting an FA Fives event in May - the nation’s largest small sided football festival to celebrate Euro 2020. The colleges will play an integral role in the delivery and will provide the official volunteers for the event.
    • Exeter College, Telford College, Warwickshire College, Cirencester College, Blackburn Rovers Community Trust, Royal Holloway College London, Durham County FA, Newcastle Stafford Colleges Group, Milton Keynes College, Lincoln College, South Devon College and Chesterfield College
  • 120 futsal teams, 42% female – we are supporting the FA’s priority to embed futsal in the women’s and girl’s competition/player pathways
Alice Kempski, AoC Sport National Football Development Manager, said: “We are so proud of the network of colleges that we work with who continue to strive for more and better opportunities for their students. "The FA’s investment into the FE sector via AoC Sport has allowed for a whole range of different projects and programmes to take off - from new futsal officiating hubs, increased pan-disability and impairment specific provision, and further embedded collaboration between colleges, schools, universities and county FAs. "The stories behind the numbers are the most impactful, and we are delighted with the innovative work that is going on to reach some of the most challenging groups, utilising football as vehicle to support the development of soft skills, mental health and community cohesion.” "We are continuously working in partnership with The FA to monitor the success of our football development programme to ensure that colleges are getting the best possible service, and students have the opportunities they need.”