Tuesday is the EFL Community Day of action, a chance for clubs to highlight some of the work that goes on in communities up and down the country. Here at Northampton Town, we were delighted to take part.
Below, we take a quick look at just some of the activities we are involved in:
Each school holiday, the club run football fun courses for children of all abilities in and around Northampton. This gives youngsters the chance to have fun while being coached by our club coaches, while often, some of our first team players pop in to meet the youngsters!
On a matchday at the PTS Academy Stadium, young supporters enjoy plenty of pre-match fun in the Grange Mortgages Family Area, while we also stage successful birthday parties for young supporters every home matchday, supported by Smyths Toy Superstores.
Moving away from matchdays the club host Fit Cobblers. This is a programme for overweight people who want to lose weight by playing football.
Before that, each Monday from 10am until 12.30pm the club host the Extra Time Hub at the PTS Academy Stadium. This is for those aged over 55 to help improve their mental, physical and social wellbeing by taking part in a range of activities.
For those a little younger, we run our ‘Wildcats’ sessions. This is a session designed for girls aged 5-11 to play regular football and take part in fun and engaging activities.
Meanwhile, as part of our Premier League Girls programme we run the Monday Night Legends sessions every Monday. This is a 16+ female only football programme for players of all experience, ability and fitness levels.
The Northampton Town Ladies train during the week and then play on a Sunday. The ladies are doing very well in the East Midlands Premier Division having won promotion last season.
Northampton Town have a Downs Syndrome team at the club that train or play every Sunday, while our multi disability squads train at Moulton every Friday evening and play in regular BOBI league fixtures.
The Northampton Town Football & Education programme operates from two centres, at the PTS Academy Stadium and in Duston, with the Duston centre opened in September 2018 by HRH the Princess Royal. The scheme allows students to combine football with their educational studies and Scott Pollock and Ethan Johnston have emerged from the programme to sign professional contracts.
This is just a flavour of the club's community work, and we are proud to be able to showcase some of our work during the EFL Community Day of Action.