More than 30 Premier League Primary Stars Football Festivals took place across England this summer to offer an introduction to free footballing activity for primary school children.
For many young pupils, this was their first experience of playing football in a fun, safe environment. The festivals are designed to break down barriers to participation and make the game accessible to all.
Funded by the Premier League and delivered by the English Schools' Football Association (ESFA), in partnership with local providers, the festivals featured more than 6,000 children, with many coming from towns that do not have a professional football team.
We attended a festival hosted at North Bromsgrove High School and Sixth Form, attended by pupils from 12 local primary schools across the area, to hear about the positive impact the events have on young people.
Ella, Premier League Primary Stars participant
"I feel inspired to play more football from being here. My favourite part about it is getting to be outside and getting physical, instead of just staying at home on our screens.
"It also feels nice to represent my school, we went round to different stations and did different football activities.
"It's different here to PE at school because we get to play on grass - at school we only have concrete. We have opportunities here to learn more things like tricks - doing them on grass is a lot safer, we can work on our skills.
"It's cool to see the Premier League Trophy, too - it's much bigger than I imagined, with all the shiny bits and the ribbons!"
Henry, Premier League Primary Stars participant
"What I get from football is friendship and fun. It's really just about having good times with your friends.
"It's really cool to represent my school at the festival, I've played some good games. I started playing football when I was four years old and have been playing ever since."
Tom Boyd, Primary school teacher at Catshill First School in Bromsgrove
"It's a superb opportunity for the kids. Some of my pupils come from disadvantaged backgrounds, coming to one of these things its probably one of the only times they get to leave Catshill.
"It's a great opportunity for them to come and do something a little bit different - it's incredible.
"The impact these activities have on them developmentally and socially shines through. I brought some kids here last year and the difference between them then and now, between them not wanting to attend stuff, to suddenly wanting to get up and talk in assemblies, saying. 'I want to do this, I want to do that' - it makes a world of difference.
"I can almost guarantee there's some children here that don’t play football but will go home today and talk about wanting to. Last year I had three or four that came out of it, went home, and were then playing for Catshill First school's teams.
"Having the Premier League Trophy and branding here too just adds to the day, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for them."
Dan Smith, ESFA football projects manager
"Our partnership with the Premier League has gone from strength to strength - it's our fourth year delivering these festivals for them and it just keeps getting better and better. Without their support, we couldn't put on days like today.
"This year we've got more 6,000 kids playing across the country, including the channel islands, Guernsey and Jersey. It's good for these areas that haven't got a Premier League team or even some of them a professional team.
"A lot of football is all about the score, winning or losing, but these festivals are all about fun. It's about everyone coming along, taking part, putting on shin pads for the first time and potentially going onto play more football in the future.
"The kids can go and have a kick around at one of the stations, or go and play with the mascots - there's something everyone can enjoy, which is brilliant. It's breaking all barriers down and giving kids a chance to really have fun with the sport, which is what it's all about.
"One of the great things about this event is it's being held at a high school that these children will potentially be attending in two or three years time. One of the barriers to moving into secondary school is it is big and scary but the children have come today, been on the field to take part and have fun in so many activities. It won't be such an intimidating place now."
What is Premier League Primary Stars?
Premier League Primary Stars uses the appeal of football to help children to learn, be active and develop essential life skills and is available to every primary school in England and Wales.
More than 70,000 teachers have engaged with the programme to date, giving them access to more than 650 free downloadable resources across Maths, English, PE and PSHE.
For more information, please visit Premier League Primary Stars.