The Foundation and St Mary’s together deliver the Chelsea FC Foundation Degree in Football Coaching and Development and the new cohort of students recently visited Stamford Bridge before hearing from Head of Development at Kick It Out, Troy Townsend.

As part of the programme, which has been running in partnership with St Mary’s University for five years, the students complete modules in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

In order to better inform the students of ways in which they can deliver inclusive practices and support their wider understanding, Townsend joined the students via video link and engaged in discussions around his own personal journey, the recent Black Lives Matter movement, Black History Month and how Kick It Out evaluates initiatives and categorises success.

Project Officer for our partnership with St. Marys, Adrian Salisbury, said: ‘It was brilliant to be able to introduce Troy to our students and prompt some engaging discussions around such a prominent and important topic.

‘Troy’s expertise and guidance to students around how they can contribute will no doubt be invaluable.’

Student Dom Nevers, who will now be mentored by Townsend, added: ‘I thoroughly enjoyed the call with Troy.

‘It was great talking to one of the most important and influential figures in football, especially on a topic I’m extremely passionate about.

‘Hearing about his experiences and his knowledge about how he is trying to change football for the better was really inspiring.’

For more information on our University programme, visit here or email [email protected]