Young people from across Derbyshire recently came together at Derby Racecourse Hub for a day of football and learning as part of Derby County Community Trust’s Premier League Kicks Internal Tournament.

Around 80 to 90 participants from Premier League Kicks sessions in Arboretum, Racecourse, Normanton, CoDA and Sunnyhill took part in the event, giving young people the opportunity to enjoy friendly competition and connect with others from across the city during the summer holidays.

Premier League Kicks, funded by the Premier League through the Premier League Foundation, 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.

Alongside a full day of football, participants also took part in educational workshops delivered by Derbyshire Police and Show Racism the Red Card, with sessions covering important topics including summer safety, water safety and tackling discrimination.

Premier League Kicks Coordinator Hanif Alassani said: “Today we’ve got the Internal Premier League Kicks tournament at Derby Racecourse Hub, where we bring in all participants from within the Derby area that we hold Premier League Kicks with – that’s Arboretum, Derby Racecourse Hub, Normanton, CoDA and Sunnyhill, bringing them all together to enjoy a bit of football.

“There’s no school today so we’re giving them something to do throughout the day. We’ve got around 80 to 90 kids here today. It’s really good seeing them obviously enjoying themselves playing football.”

The tournament was also an opportunity to reinforce key messages around staying safe during the school holidays, while giving young people the chance to learn from local partners away from the pitch.

Hanif added: “It’s amazing. The impact is really, really good because it’s a way of showing the participants that we really care about what they say, what they enjoy. The participants said they want a bit of a tournament, so we decided, you know what, let’s hold it together, bring some trophies down and bring some important people down to educate them a little bit more.

“The workshop with the police was about summer safety which especially important with the summer holidays coming up.”

Premier League Kicks provides free football sessions and positive activities for young people throughout the year, helping to build confidence, develop life skills and create stronger, safer and more inclusive communities.

Young people interested in finding out more about Derby County Community Trust’s Premier League Kicks sessions can visit: https://derbycountycommunitytrust.com/what-we-do/pl-kicks/