The Football League, sponsors npower and the ITFC Charitable Trust have teamed up for the Home Town Heroes programme, a new community initiative which aims to put power into the hands of the fans.
The £2 million initiative - which will be run over the course of npower’s three-year sponsorship - will ask communities around the UK's 72 Football League grounds to vote on how this money should be spent, in order to make the most impact in their local area.
Communities can choose from one of three £10,000 projects for children. The public will have until the end of December to decide and then each club will work with npower to implement the project their fans have selected before the end of the season.
The 72 clubs will be supported in this initiative by The Football League Trust which oversees the League's community and youth development programmes. Each of the three Town options are backed by a current player.
Option One — Respect Workshop for 10 Year Olds — Carlos Edwards
The aim of this scheme is to work with around 20 primary schools in the area by using football to teach Year Six pupils about respect, teamwork and citizenship, both in the game and in other areas of their lives. FA-qualified ITFC Charitable Trust coaches will travel to each primary school to deliver the initiative.
Town midfielder Carlos Edwards thinks this would be a great choice for the local community: "Teamwork, citizenship and respect are important, both on and off the pitch and this project would help youngsters understand and learn about their importance.”
Option Two — Space to Play Football — Jaime Peters
With the help of Town fans, the ITFC Charitable Trust will suggest a local park to clean up and revamp into a football training zone and a place where children can play in a safe environment.
If a local area to transform into a new play area can’t be found, then npower will enlist the help of a company called ESP (Education and Special Projects Ltd) to put in new playground markings for one or two local schools and run training sessions to train a trainer in how to use these markings in the future.
Versatile Canadian international Jaime Peters, thinks this choice would benefit children of all ages: "This is a project that all children can enjoy, no matter what their age and is a great way for youngsters to keep active.”
Option Three — Coaching Sessions for Four to Six Year Olds — Márton Fülöp
The third option is to use the £10,000 donation from npower to set up coaching sessions for younger children aged between four and six years.
ITFC Charitable Trust coaches who are qualified to work with this particular age group will travel to 10 different schools to deliver five, one-hour football sessions, which will teach the youngsters basic football skills. Parents are encouraged to participate in the session so they can continue the coaching at home with their children.
Town keeper Márton Fülöp thinks that coaching sessions for younger children is a winner and says: "This would be a great way to introduce young children into football and a good way for parents to get involved too.”
You can vote on your preferred option via npower’s website here.
Terry Baxter, chief executive of the ITFC Charitable Trust, says the scheme illustrates how football can be at the heart of the community: "The Charitable Trust is a charity that works within the community, using its close relationship with the football club, to improve the lives of children, young people and adults from all walks of life.
"The Home Town Heroes programme gives Town supporters a say in helping to improve an aspect of their community.”
Volker Beckers, RWE npower's CEO, said: "This scheme is all about giving power to the fans. As a new sponsor, we didn’t want to come in with a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Instead, we’re asking the communities around each club to vote and tell us which option suits them best."
Greg Clarke, the chairman of The Football League, added: "Football League clubs are an integral part of their local communities, demonstrating that football has the power to make a difference to peoples’ lives.
"Whichever project each community votes for - be it respect workshops, football training or the improvement of local playgrounds - our clubs will be actively engaging with local children to encourage them to get involved in football."