Prince Charles Celebrates Fifteen Years of Prince's Trust Football Initiative
Prince Charles met Premier League footballers at Clarence House, to mark the 15<sup>th anniversary of The Prince's Trust Football Initiative. The scheme is one that aims to encouraged disadvantaged young people to find employment.
During the session, the Prince of Wales jokingly referred to his own playing days, adding they were far from successful.
"As we say in the football world, he's got banter. He said he used to captain his school side and played at centre half, but said they never won a game while he was captain," said Danny Shittu, a defender for Premier League side Queen's Park Rangers.
Bolton's Kevin Davies and Tottenham's Jermain Defoe were also at the event.
Kevin Davies said he tried to make the Prince admit he was a fan of rival local side Burnley, as reported. However, Prince Charles was adroit enough to sidestep the question.
"I asked him if it was true he's a Burnley fan - but he said: 'I couldn't tell you'," Davies was quoted as saying in a BBC report.
The charity has worked with 65 Premier League and Football League clubs in creating 12-week programmes attended by young people between the ages of 16 and 25, which allows them to meet footballers personally. More than 20,000 young people have been helped by The Prince's Trust Football Initiative. Three out of four of those who take part in the scheme have gone on to find work or training or educate themselves further.
Together, the Premier League and the Professional Footballers' Association have donated £7 million to the initiative since 1997.
"I always felt somehow that if you can work together with the football world, there is so much you can do to bring in young people who might not otherwise get involved," Prince Charles said.
"Half the problem is getting the message across that something like the Prince's Trust actually exists and that there are all sorts of worthwhile ways of people being able to escape from difficult and challenging circumstances," he added.
At the event, the Prince was presented with a Blackburn Rovers shirt by the club's chief executive, Paul Hunt, and the Prince's Trust emblem has been displayed on the players' shirts this season.
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.