Story added: 7th December 2016

Local schools take part in club heats of Premier League Enterprise Challenge

The Community Sports Foundation (CSF) welcomed young entrepreneurs from local high schools to a Premier League Enterprise Challenge event last week.

The Challenge, part of an innovative nationwide business skills programme funded by the Premier League, asks students to come up with a business plan, working to a brief set by the Premier League Executive Chairman Richard Scudamore.

The brief this year: come up with a strategy to grow the profile of their club in the United States.

Wymondham High, Dereham Northgate and Aylsham High were the schools hoping to impress enough to be chosen as Norwich City FC’s representatives this year.

The students were invited to Carrow Road, where they were given a couple of hours to fine-tune their proposals, before presenting to the judging panel.

CSF trustee and journalist Mick Dennis, Norwich City FC Head of Community Engagement Steve Balmer-Walters and CSF Curriculum Manager Stevie Bramble were the trio given the tough task of selecting the winners.

Ideas this year included online digital challenges and building links to the MLS; but it was Aylsham High’s focus on a youth football exchange programme that really caught the judge’s attention, winning them Norwich City FC’s spot.

The school will now travel down to London in February for the South-East regional final where they’ll go up against schools representing clubs such as Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.

Mark Woodcock, CSF’s Premier League Enterprise Coordinator said:

“It is no easy feat to present in front of a panel of experts, and the groups showed outstanding levels of maturity and confidence. I’ve been working with each of the groups on this from the beginning and it has been great to see how their ideas have taken shape and developed into what were three really strong pitches.”

The PL Challenge forms part of the Premier League Enterprise programme, a joint-funded projects run by the Premier League and Sport Relief which uses the backdrop of professional football clubs’ business models to deliver enterprise education. The programme focuses on engaging marginalised young people, identified as underachieving or at risk of not achieving their full potential.

The Community Sports Foundation delivers the programme to 15 high schools across Norfolk.