Congratulations to Burnley and Birmingham City! Both clubs have just been promoted from the Championship, taking their work with the DofE into the Premiership.

Owen Coyle,the Manager of Burnley FC, has agreed to be the official DofE Ambassador at Turf Moor. Burnley's promotion makes Owen the first Premier League Manager to be a DofE Ambassador.

 

He is thrilled to be part of our DofE Burnley partnership and is very enthusiastic about developing young people. “This is very much a community club” he said, “and we embrace the DofE programmes as a valuable addition to the daily lives of young people in the borough. I am proud to be a DoE Ambassador and look forward to being a Premier League Manager working hard to make this top flight programme a continued success.”

Burnley FC, part of our pioneering national partnership with the Football League Trust, has been a Member of the DofE Charter for three years and is running DofE programmes for young people at the club.

Celebrating the promotion, Burnley Chairman Barry Kilby said: “We are what we are: a proper football club. This club is part of the old system. It represents the town. The directors are local people. Our link with the DofE enables us to help local youngsters achieve their best – it’s a winning formula”.

Burnley FC Community Sports Trust has appointed a full time DofE Co-ordinator and they have already ensured that 50 young people have already achieved their Bronze DofE. Some of these Awards were presented during a visit by Prince Edward to Turf Moor.

There are now 100 young people taking part in the programme. Activities they are involved in include sign-language courses and volunteering placements in the local community. Burnley believes in rewarding success, young people are rewarded with match tickets when they complete three sections of their DofE programme. Community Sports Trust staff and volunteers mentor young people through the DofE, which makes a real difference to completing the Bronze Silver and Gold levels.

"Burnley's promotion to the Premiership is great news for a proud football club and also for the town's youngsters who are sharing in its success," said Jonathan Heys, the Trust's DofE Co-ordinator. "The DofE's flourishing partnership with Burnley F.C. is another success story for club and town, as together we are helping scores of young people to reap the benefits of outdoor learning and adventure."

Birmingham City and Sheffield United are also part of our Football League Partnership, which aims to develop young people through social and physical education and benefit society as a whole by engaging young people positively with local neighbourhoods. The Blues have recruited fifteen young people to do their DofE this year and all hope to have achieved Bronze by December. Craig Gill, the Club’s Community Manager, said their group were very excited about taking part.