The Aston Villa Foundation is celebrating the Premier League’s More Than a Game campaign in the build-up to this weekend's game against Ipswich Town, bringing together football clubs to showcase how club community programme delivery positively impacts the lives of millions around the country.
Ahead of Saturday's game, we are showcasing how the Foundation can be innovative in its approach to catering to local needs.
Shayan was introduced to the Foundation through Teamwork Plus, an initiative which offers 12 weeks of free 1-to-1 wellbeing sessions for young people aged between 8-25. Participant Shayan was referred to the programme by his school, having moved here from Iraq in 2022.
Wellbeing Practitioner, Sean Holding said of Shayan: “He has found such a big transition difficult at times and his school felt like he could benefit from a 1-to-1 intervention to help boost his self-esteem and confidence.
"During our sessions, we focused on his strengths, looked at the challenges he has faced and worked around resilience to encourage him to keep pushing himself to reach his goals.”
Shayan reached all of the goals he had set for himself by the end of his time with the programme. Sean then referred Shayan to Premier League Kicks, taking place at Aston Villa's Inner-City Academy, which uses the power of football and the value of sports participation to help hard-to-reach youngsters in some of the most high-need areas.
Shayan has thrived at these sessions, playing football every week and building a great rapport with his coaches and fellow players. He represented the Foundation at the recent 'No Room For Racism' tournament.
Sitting under the Teamwork project umbrella, Teamwork Plus is funded through the Premier League Charitable Fund and Living Well UK, and offers wellbeing support focusing primarily on self-esteem, coping strategies, emotional regulation, anxiety, thought processes, and goal setting.
Recently, for Time to Talk Day, former Aston Villa player Nathan Baker was invited to a Teamwork session at Aston Villa's Inner-City Academy.
Participants asked Nathan questions about his time and career with Aston Villa, and shared thoughts with one another over a coffee after a game of football.
