LCFC Community Trust Enjoy Successful PL Kicks Cup Involvement

- The LCFC Community Trust’s male group reached the final of the competition 

- The LCFC Community Trust have delivered their Premier League Kicks programme to nearly 1,000 young people since first starting last season 

A group of Under-16 males representing the LCFC Community Trust reached the final of the Premier League Kicks Cup on Thursday. 

Hosted at the Forest Recreation Ground Pavilion, Nottingham, a group of male and a group of female Under-16 footballers – often in attendance at Premier League Kicks courses delivered by the LCFC Community Trust – participated among over 70 teams. 

And the day proved particularly successful for the Under-16 males group, who made it to the final of the 10th annual competition. 

After finishing top of Group 4, taking on AFC Bournemouth, Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers, Derby County, Wigan Athletic and Barnet, LCFC beat Coventry City in the quarter-final and Watford in the semi final, before eventually losing in the final to West Ham United. 

It is the second consecutive year that the LCFC Community Trust have taken part in the competition, which began in 2006 as a pilot project. 

LCFC Community Trust Cohesion Manager James Lowbridge said: “Every year, there’s a national tournament for boys and girls that are involved in the Premier League Kicks programme. We participated again this year, and both our boys and girls team represented the Club in a great light. 

“The programme uses football as an enabler to put those who are potentially deemed hard to reach onto the right path, giving them constructive activities to divert them away from anti-social behaviour. 

“One of those incentives is to represent Leicester City in the Premier League Kicks Cup, and in this year’s case, the final of the competition.” 

The LCFC Community Trust have delivered their Premier League Kicks programme to nearly 1,000 young people since first starting last season, engaging with different communities to bring them together. 

James added: “Those that took part in the Premier League Kicks Cup on Thursday were selected from the five areas from where we currently deliver the programme. One of the main successes of the project is how participants have formed new friendships, expanded their social circles to those outside of their regular areas, and how they have been integrated together as one community. 

“While we were beaten in the final, we performed excellently, not just on the pitch, but off it too. It’s a really unique programme and we’ve seen some fantastic support from our partners Leicestershire Police, who were in attendance on Thursday, as well as Samworth Brothers.”