Young people from Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT) have joined hundreds across England and Wales in this year’s Premier League Inspires Challenge, a nationwide initiative supported by the Premier League and the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) that uses football to empower 11-18-year-olds through life skills, mentoring, and social action.
The Challenge is one element of the Premier League Inspires programme, which clubs run on a weekly basis to support 11-18-year-olds who may be at risk of not reaching their potential as they move through the education system and into early adulthood.
This season, young people have been tasked with tackling gender inequality in their communities. CACT Premier League Inspires participants came together to share their project ideas by discussing what gender equality meant to them in their communities and schools. Teams presented their social action project ideas at The Valley to a panel of judges, including Charlton women’s team legend Kim Dixson. The winning team from Royal Greenwich Trust School developed a campaign video which spoke about women’s health in sport and the gender play gap, discussing how these issues impact women playing football.
Click here to watch a video made the students, in which they explain their social action project.
One of CACT’s male Premier League Inspires participants said: “This was an inspiring project because it taught me a lot about the different challenges women in football face inside of sport and outside sport.”
CACT’s Premier League Inspires Challenge team also explored the positive work Charlton have already done this year to tackle gender inequality. CACT hosted a Premier League Kicks tournament to mark International Women’s Day in March, where 120 girls took part in a competitive football tournament alongside meeting a variety of female role models from the football industry in workshops and Q&A sessions.
Having received the highest number of votes in their heat, CACT participants from Royal Greenwich Trust School joined hundreds of young people at the Premier League Inspires Challenge celebration event at Wembley at the end of April. Here, they represented their project alongside more than 40 other clubs from across the Premier League and English Football League. Former Manchester City Women and Lionesses player Izzy Christiansen, as well as representatives from the PFA, were also in attendance to support and celebrate the young people’s achievements.
This challenge builds upon the Premier League and Premier League Charitable Fund’s commitment to creating opportunities for all in communities across England and Wales.
Premier League Charitable Fund Interim Chief Executive, Alex White, said: “The Premier League Inspires Challenge gives young people the chance to collaborate on projects that create a positive difference in their community, by championing gender equality and promoting inclusive environments.
“Through taking part in the challenge, young people can build their confidence and gain skills in areas such as public speaking, project planning and teamwork.”
Launched in 2019, Premier League Inspires creates life-changing opportunities for young people who may be at risk of not reaching their potential to engage with activities, helping them to develop the personal skills and positive attitudes needed to succeed in life.
Using the power of football, the programme helps to prepare young people for further education and employment through a series of face-to-face mentoring sessions, workshops and social-action projects.
PFA Senior CSR and EDI Executive, Terry Angus, said: “At the PFA, we believe football has the power to inspire positive change, not just on the pitch, but in our communities. Through Premier League Inspires, young people are developing confidence, leadership and a sense of purpose. It’s fantastic to see our scholars engaging with the programme and working alongside young participants to tackle important issues like gender equality. These experiences stay with them for life and reflect the values we want the game to represent.”
This season, 45 football club charities across the Premier League and English Football League are delivering Premier League Inspires sessions at their stadiums, in local schools and at alternative educational settings, with partnership support from the PFA.
CACT began its Premier League Inspires delivery in 2022 and since then has supported 183 young people through 360 sessions in five local schools. In addition, 70 young people attended workshops around topics such as EDI, Mental Health and Social Action.
More than 30,000 young people from across England and Wales have received more than 130,000 hours of targeted support through the programme to date.