Premier League Youth Summit ensures young people from Club Doncaster Foundation have their voices heard

Wednesday 10^th August saw 13 participants from across Doncaster Kicks sessions attend the annual National Premier League Youth Summit at the Eco-Power Stadium.

The youth summit gives young people the opportunity to voice their opinions and share their experiences, to help create new ideas in bringing positive change to communities.

Before the youth summit got underway on Wednesday afternoon, our participants got to partake in several activities, making the day as interactive as possible.

The group got an interactive stadium tour with a quiz, by the Foundation coaches, visiting numerous points around the Eco-Power Stadium, including the hospitality area, dugouts and the home and away changing rooms.

They also took part in a football training session, alongside an education and employment workshop from Club Doncaster Sports College tutors, and had time to relax within Donny Dog’s kennel with table football and Fifa 21.

During the final part of the day, the group got a visit from Doncaster Rovers first team player, Luke Molyneux, who spoke about his youth employment and his dream job (football of course). The group got the chance to ask questions too, before being presented with a goody bag by Luke, including tickets for a Rovers home game, for being a part of the day.

Mark Cooper, Sport Development Officer for Kicks said, “Being able to bring participants to the stadium and have them be a part of the annual Youth Summit is fantastic. They’ve had a great day, with plenty of activities for them to do.” 

“The Youth Summit is an opportunity for the participants to really have their voice heard, while we get to discover their ideas and opinions in bringing the positive changes within Doncaster, and ultimately shaping the Kicks sessions going forward, which will have a wider impact in the community.”

The virtual Premier League Youth Summit began in the 2020/21 season, with the aim of involving and supporting young people in positive conversation, while empowering them to tackle issues that affect their communities. More than 1000 young people have contributed to the discussions to date.

Held and broadcasted from BBC Media City in Salford, and delivered in partnership with BBC Children in Need, the virtual summit encouraged 11-18-year-olds, representing 61 professional football club community organisations, to engage in discussions around equality, diversity and inclusion.

Premier League Head of Community Nick Perchard said: “The Premier League is committed to promoting equality and giving young people from different backgrounds the opportunity to have their say. The Premier League Youth Summit offers young people from across England and Wales the chance to come together to discuss the topics that matter to them, to help shape their communities.

“Our Premier League Changemakers, Kicks and Kicks Targeted activity supports more than 80,000 young people every year, so we know how important it is for the League and our clubs to be able to provide positive activities both on and off the pitch.

“It’s vital that we continue to support and empower young people from every part of the community to tell us about what matters to them and seek their thoughts on how the Premier League can best support them with the challenges they face in their everyday lives.”

For information on all the Kicks sessions that take place within Doncaster, please visit the Doncaster Kicks page on Facebook.