200 kids enjoy Easter PL Kicks tournaments
More than 200 local children took part in Easter holiday tournaments as part of the Premier League Kicks programme.
Premier League Kicks provides free football sessions every week for children who live in high-need neighbourhoods.
Our coaches organised five holiday tournaments across Sussex, giving kids the chance to play in a fun, competitive environment during the Easter break.
Tournaments took place in Brighton, Worthing, Burgess Hill, Eastbourne, and Hastings, with more than 200 youngsters joining us across the week.
We also held a girls-only tournament in Brighton for 25 local girls, as well as a healthy eating workshop teaching the girls about proper nutrition and how to prepare healthy snacks.
Later in the holiday, we took some of our young PL Kicks participants to Portsmouth for a regional tournament.
We entered both a girls team and a mixed team, with the mixed team winning the fair play award for the tournament.
As part of the day, the teams had the opportunity to see the Premier League trophy and pose for a photo with it.
During the Easter holiday, we also collaborated with Palace For Life (Crystal Palace’s official charity); a group of young people from one of our PL Kicks sessions was invited up to Selhurst Park.
The group worked collaboratively with the youngsters from Palace For Life to work on a social action project, before having a tour of Selhurst Park and then taking part in some fun (but competitive) football matches nearby.
Sadie Ashby, who works on Premier League Kicks for the Foundation, was delighted to see so many young people engage with the programme over the Easter break.
“We’ve had a really busy Easter holiday, but it’s been amazing to see so many children and young people get involved over the past few weeks.
“Instead of doing nothing during their school holiday, they’ve been with us playing football, learning new skills for life, and keeping fit.”