Cardiff City Community Foundation nominated for Award

The Inspiring Leaders Awards is one of seven categories in the annual Celebrate Success programme, which rewards young people and organisations, such as Cardiff City, for their dedication to making a difference to young people's lives.

Cardiff City Community Foundation has been nominated for the highly prestigious Prince’s Trust Inspiring Leaders Award as a result of their Get Started with Football programme.

Currently, the club is shortlisted for the regional round of the nomination and faces stiff competition in Wales, one of 12 regions, from the Ministry of Defence and an Assistant Team Leader from the Neath Port Talbot Training Agency, Louise Hill.

The South-Wales outfit’s community team uses football as a tool to raise the awareness of children, young people and adults to the benefits of keeping an active and healthy lifestyle.

To date, four highly successful Get Started with Football programmes have been held, providing the first step in increasing the confidence, skills and employability of young people.

“Considering our partnership with Cardiff City Community Foundation is relatively new, we have achieved exceptional results of the past year,” said Jane Davies, Programme Executive for Wales for the Prince’s Trust.

“The support we’ve received from the Community Foundation team has been excellent. The coaches are highly skilled, with the ability to relate well to our participants and cater to their carrying skill levels.

“The coaches engage well with our participants…and the equipment and facilities at Cardiff City are excellent.”

The Inspiring Leaders Awards is one of seven categories in the annual Celebrate Success programme, which rewards young people and organisations, such as Cardiff City, for their dedication to making a difference to young people’s lives.

Should Cardiff be selected by the Prince’s Trust panel on 19 November, they will go forward to the grand final in London on 10 March 2010.

“It is a huge honour to be nominated for such a prestigious award,” admitted Cardiff City Assistant Community Manager, Marc Cahill. “It just goes to show the standard that we are setting at Cardiff City.

“We make sure that the participants have proper kits with the Cardiff City badge and Prince’s Trust logo in the sponsorship position.

“We make it more than them just turning up doing what they have to do and then leaving, for us it is about being a part of it.

“The club could have easily done the bare minimum and not pushed ourselves, but we want to set the standards and then push the boundaries in what we do.”

And Rick Libbey, Director of the Prince’s Trust Cymru, explains that the nomination will be seen as a major honour for Cardiff City who have only been working with the Prince’s Trust for a year.

“It is unusual for a delivery partner to be nominated in their first year with The Trust,” he said.

“Cardiff City Community Foundation thoroughly deserves to be in the short-listed nominations against some partners who have been with The Trust for several years.

“The team have gone the extra mile to enhance the programme, which makes a tremendous difference to the young people.”