Albion in the Community is helping young players learn new skills and stay active at home.
The charity runs dozens of weekly football sessions across Sussex, attended by thousands of children and young people each year.
These include sessions for people with a disability, after school clubs, free football sessions for young people living in areas of deprivation, and the charity’s popular Brighton & Hove Albion Soccer Schools.
However, these have all had to be suspended as part of the Covid-19 precautions.
And with people largely restricted to staying at home, Albion in the Community’s coaches have been coming up with new ways to encourage local youngsters to get active.
The charity has been holding live online training sessions for some participants to join from their gardens, and emailing round football homework for young players to do each week – including advice on eating a healthy and balanced diet.
It has also been releasing weekly YouTube videos of coaches demonstrating different skills for young players to practice in their gardens and setting for challenges for them to tackle.
Mark Pedrick, football pathway manager at Albion in the Community, said, “Helping people get active is a key part of what we do at Albion in the Community because we know there are so many physical and mental benefits to regular exercise.
“Inactivity among children is a big issue. We know, for example, that around 40% of children in Sussex do less than the 30 minutes recommended daily exercise outside of school. With most children now no longer attending school, that can become an even bigger challenge – particularly when any regular sport they may play has also been cancelled.
“We’re doing all we can to encourage young people to stay active because it is so important to their general wellbeing”.