The Premier League celebrated the positive impact of football clubs in their communities when the Premier League Charitable Fund (PLCF) marked its 10-year anniversary during 2020/21.
The PLCF was established in 2010 to distribute funding provided by the Premier League to professional football club community organisations across England and Wales, supporting them in their delivery of local outreach initiatives.
One young person who has been involved in these initiatives is Ryan Johnson, a huge West Bromwich Albion supporter.
Ryan has become a regular attendee at the Premier League Kicks sessions, run by The Albion Foundation, and his social skills and self-confidence have both improved dramatically since becoming involved.
Ryan has been named the winner of The Albion Foundation's Kicks Participant Award and continues to regularly benefit from the programme.
Ajay Gill, Ryan's PL Kicks coach at The Albion Foundation, said: "Being at the Kicks session has brought him outside of his comfort zone.
"He'll turn up and interact with people that perhaps he wouldn't normally have the opportunity to in his day-to-day life and he does that fantastically well."
Did you know?
1.5m+ People have benefited from provision and involvement in Premier League-funded community programmes
