The Premier League Inspires Challenge returned to Bloomfield Road this month. Building on the successes of 2024, Blackpool FC Community Trust (BFCCT) welcomed cohorts of Year 9 pupils from our five partner High Schools to take part.
Pupils from Armfield Academy, Montgomery Academy, Unity Academy, Aspire Academy and Highfield Leadership Academy took part in the Premier League Inspires Challenge on Monday 10th February, in the Moretti Lounge at Bloomfield Road Stadium.
This year’s challenge was all about raising awareness of gender equality in our modern world and coming up with a social action project to support their community, school, and Blackpool FC.
What is Premier League Inspires?
Premier League Inspires is a 15-week, positive mental health, and resilience programme. It is delivered once a week, to selected Year 9 pupils across Blackpool. The primary focus of Premier League Inspires is to help young people reach their potential by ensuring they’re inspired, engaged, and develop the coping strategies to support them through the challenges of life.
The Event
Schools arrived bright and early to set up their areas in a market stall-styled event. Having worked devotedly in their sessions at school, supported by BFCCT staff members, pupils presented their social action ideas to students from Blackpool FC Sports College, BFCCT staff and broader partners Beaverbrooks & NatWest. Visitors were asked to engage and give feedback on project ideas, scoring the pupils across three key areas: Presentation & Communication, Overall Project Design and Knowledge & Understanding. Pupils presented a wide range of well-thought-out concepts and ideas to support gender equality in their school, football club and broader community. Learners took turns to present their ideas and answer questions from our staff and scholars, who challenged and encouraged them throughout the process. It’s fair to say our guests were amazed by the creative ideas being showcased.
The Impact
When the pupils arrived to present their ideas, it was apparent that many felt anxious, uneasy, and apprehensive about leaving the comfort of their classrooms. However, after their first interaction, their confidence grew, and they spoke passionately, sincerely, and thoughtfully about their social action projects. The staff who were there to support the pupils were impressed by how they gained the courage to present and share their ideas with conviction.
Mr Carter from Armfield Academy said,
“Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking a Year 9 cohort of students to Bloomfield Road to the Premier League Inspires Challenge. The students have been working with Emily at BFCCT on their personal skills, confidence building and communication over several weeks. The competition was the culmination of building these skills where they had to present a social action project on gender equality. Several schools entered the and I am pleased to say, we won! Thank you to Emily and the BFCCT team for their support.”
Pupils also gave their feedback about the event:
“I liked it because I was made to feel welcome, and it helps us to express ourselves.”
“It has helped me to become a better person and communicate more.”
“I loved the event; it was a lot of fun speaking to people you have never met. It has helped me with creativity and given me new opportunities.”
The Winning Idea
Once the votes had been counted, it was time to announce the winners. Having articulated their ideas with consistent enthusiasm and energy, pupils eagerly awaited the results. Ideas had ranged from hosting a mixed-gendered charity match to integrating both genders into the game, a podcast aimed at talking to individuals who undertake roles perceived to be dominated by the opposing gender but it was our eventual winners, Armfield Academy, who wanted to host a pre-matchday event where children and adults of both genders to come and take part in an Esports gaming event to share in their love of gaming and encourage others to feel comfortable to play. They will now work closely with BFCCT staff to undertake their social action project.
What’s Next?
The winners will now act on their idea, documenting this throughout to show how their journey unfolds. In April they will attend Wembley Stadium, the home of football, where they will present their findings to partners and peers from other football clubs taking part in the Premier League Inspires programme.
