Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Premier League Kicks programme offered free football sessions to young people aged 8 to 18 years old in their community, with the Foundation running sessions in Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, Wandsworth and Westminster.

The aim of the programme is to use football to bring communities together and engage with youngsters who had previously proven difficult to reach and guiding them towards a range of healthy and constructive activities, while providing them with opportunities to develop skills and confidence to eventually propel them into positive pathways.

Due to government guidelines, Foundation staff have had to find new ways to engage with our young participants, one of which is the introduction of the Chelsea Foundation Podcast which will be available to participants in the Kicks programme.

Spence and Blundell were special guests as they spoke about a number of topics including their greatest career moments and ways in which youngsters can stay motivated during these unprecedented times.

Spence said: ‘It was great to be a part of the first Chelsea Foundation Podcast, and to speak about ways in which we are adapting to a big change in our lives because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘It’s a tough time for us all, including the younger generation and hopefully they can take something from listening to the podcast with myself and Hannah.

Blundell added: ‘I really enjoyed being a part of the podcast with Drew and it’s great to see that the Foundation are finding ways to engage with our younger community.

‘The Kicks programme is in place to bring younger communities together and so it’s really important that they are continuing to bring the participants together during this difficult time, and I was more than happy to be a small part of that.’

The podcast will be made available for the youngsters to listen to and there has also been other activities put in place that the participants can take advantage of during the coronavirus pandemic.

Virtual classrooms have been set up to give participants the opportunity to take part in different activities while the Premier League have also arranged a FIFA Tournament specifically for Kicks participants across the country.

Chelsea Foundation social inclusion project officer Callum Salhotra said: ‘It was a fantastic opportunity to get Drew and Hannah to feature on the Kicks Podcast.

‘I’m sure as professional players they will inspire both our males and females who currently attend our projects.

‘They spoke about the barriers they faced to get into the female game which will hopefully motivate some of our players to see it is possible for them.’