Sky Blues in the Community have named their player ambassadors for the 2017/18 season.
Every year, throughout the season, all Coventry City Football Club First Team Players spend time each month visiting the vast array of projects, programmes and sessions delivered by Sky Blues in the Community to make a difference to the lives of people across Coventry and Warwickshire.
The community department also nominate specific CCFC players as ambassadors to support and advocate the main themes of their work - Sport, Health, Inclusion and Education.
The 2017/18 Season’s ambassadors are: Michael Doyle and Ben Stevenson (Sport), Chris Stokes (Health), Jordan Willis (Inclusion) and Rod McDonald (Education).
Sport Ambassador, Michael Doyle said: "I'm delighted to be chosen as a Sport Ambassador for Sky Blues in the Community! I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the charity run their Football Holiday Camps over the summer. I think it's great that children can enjoy and improve their football skills working with qualified coaches as well as meet new friends and just keep active and have fun during the school holidays.”
Sport Ambassador, Ben Stevenson said: "It's a great feeling to be asked to be one of Sky Blues in the Community's Sport Ambassadors for this season. All the players have seen for ourselves the excellent work the Sky Blues team do within local schools during our player visits. They do an amazing job delivering projects with the EFL Trust, Premier League Charitable Fund and other partners. Having such a presence in local schools means the Sky Blues are helping to engage the next generation of Coventry City fans who we hope will continue to support us with their families and help us achieve success."
Health Ambassador, Chris Stokes said: “It’s fantastic to be Sky Blues in the Community’s Health Ambassador for another season. Last year I visited a number of their health themed projects, particularly the +Sport Move and Learn project in local schools. It’s always great to support educating children about the importance of having a healthy balanced diet and being active. I’m proud of and look forward to being the Health Ambassador for another season.”
Inclusion Ambassador, Jordan Willis said: “I am delighted to be named as the Inclusion Ambassador for Sky Blues in the Community. We recognise at Coventry City Football Club the power of the Football Club brand and the crucial work Sky Blues in the Community undertakes to help raise aspirations and improve the life chances of young people and adults across the City. All of the players know that we have a responsibility to act as role models and we have a great set of players here that fully understand that responsibility and are happy to get involved.”
Education Ambassador, Rod McDonald said: “I’m really pleased to have been selected to support the Education work that Sky Blues in the Community deliver in Coventry and Warwickshire. They work with children, young people and adults using sport to aid learning and personal development. I look forward to supporting the continued good work the Sky Blues do to make a difference to local people’s lives.”
During the 2016/17 season, the players took part in 465 hours of visits in the Coventry and Warwickshire community. This was almost double the 285 hours the squad completed in 2015/16, while back in 2014/15 248.5 hours were completed.
There will be coverage of player visits on our website, social media and club programme throughout the season - you can see photos from the August visits here, plus an interview with Sport Ambassador Michael Doyle here.
You can learn more about the work that Sky Blues in the Community does in the local area across each of their themes at sbitc.org