On Tuesday 2 April Brentford FC Community Sports Trust hosted the Premier League Kicks London Regional Tournament at Gunnersbury Park.
13 London Community Club Organisations (CCOs) competed with teams across the Under-16 mixed and Under-16 girls’ tournaments hoping to win the opportunity to represent their club in the Premier League Kicks Cup 2024 finals at St George’s Park in July.
Regional Tournaments
Nine regional tournaments are being staged at community facilities across the country throughout April, with hundreds of young people representing Premier League, EFL and National League clubs.
Walsall and Preston North End are the current Premier League Kicks Cup champions, having won the Under-16 mixed and Under-16 girls’ tournaments respectively in 2023.
The Premier League Kicks Cup tournament is one of the competition elements of Premier League Kicks.
Premier League Kicks uses the power of football and sport to inspire young people to reach their potential, in some of the most high-need areas in England and Wales.
Creating Opportunities
Premier League Charitable Fund Chief Executive, Ruth Shaw OBE, said: “Premier League Kicks continues to have an incredible impact on communities across England and Wales, providing hundreds of thousands of young people with free access to football in their local area.
“The Premier League Kicks Cup regional tournaments will create opportunities for more than 1,400 young people across 89 professional football club community organisations across the football leagues to take part in competitive football, to make new friends, engage in positive activities and work together to develop their potential on and off the pitch.”
Tense Finals
Following a day of group matches and then knockout semi-finals it all came down to two closely fought games in the finals.
In the mixed tournament, QPR beat Charlton Athletic on penalties, whilst Tottenham Hotspur defeated AFC Wimbledon 2-1 in the girl’s tournament. All four finalists will progress to the finals in July, and we wish them the best of luck.
Engaging Workshops
Throughout the event the players had the opportunity to take part in workshops which were delivered by; The Met Police, Virtual Decisions, Resuscitation Council UK, and Brentford FC Community Sports Trust. The themes of the workshops were CPR training, mental health awareness, police engagement and knife crime awareness.
In addition to providing young people with access to free football and sports activities, professional football club CCOs also provide additional year-round support through Premier League Kicks.
This includes offering mentoring, life-skills advice and access to opportunities such as volunteering and social action to help aid personal development.
Competitive and Respectful
Scott Southgate, Community Engagement Co-Ordinator at Brentford FC Community Sports Trust, said, “It’s been great to see so many teams at Gunnersbury Park today for the London Regional Premier League Kicks Tournament. The matches were competitive and respectful and the players all engaged with the workshops throughout the day, taking away important life lessons and training.
“Congratulations to all the teams who took part and I’d like to wish the best of luck to QPR, Charlton Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur and AFC Wimbledon as they progress to the national finals in July.”
Premier League Kicks began in 2006. Since then, more than 520,000 young people have participated in Premier League Kicks football and multi-sport sessions delivered by 90 Premier League, English Football League and National League sides. More than one million hours of sessions have been delivered across England and Wales.
To date, the Premier League has invested more than £66 million in Premier League Kicks through the Premier League Charitable Fund.
Visit premierleague.com for more information.