Louie French, MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup and Shadow Minister for Culture, Media and Sport, recently spent a day seeing first-hand some of the activities delivered by Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT).
Joined by the Premier League trophy, which made special appearances throughout the day, French visited a series of programmes in Sidcup which showcased the important work of CACT and the Premier League.
The day began at Hurstmere School, where French visited a Premier League Inspires session. The programme uses football-themed activities to help young people build confidence and key life skills. During the visit, pupils were tasked with creating their own political parties and campaigns based on issues that mattered to them. After the workshop, the Premier League trophy was taken to the main hall, where the whole school had the chance to see it and meet their local MP.
Later on, French visited Willersley Park in Sidcup, where one of CACT’s Youth Engagement Vehicles was set up. Young people had access to recreational activities in and around the bus, such as gaming on a PS5, using DJ equipment, playing football and interacting with CACT mentors. Local residents also took the opportunity to stop by, find out more about CACT’s outreach work, meet French and take photos with the Premier League trophy.
The day concluded at Sporting Club Thamesmead, where a weekly Premier League Kicks session was taking place. The Premier League trophy was also present at this session, giving more people from the local community an opportunity to see the silverware.
Reflecting on the day, French said: “Seeing the Premier League Inspires and Premier League Kicks programmes in action has been fantastic. It was amazing to see the impact which CACT is having on local people; the work the Trust does is crucial to the Bexley community and something everyone in the area welcomes.”