From 2020, Brentford FC Community Sports Trust will engage thousands of young people aged 16 and 17, delivering National Citizen Service (NCS), a four-week programme funded by the Government. NCS is one of the fastest growing youth programmes engaging 500,000 young people since piloting in 2009. The NCS experience will give young people a clearer idea of what they want from their future. They will take on fresh challenges, get a taste of independence and be given a platform to have their voices heard and deliver a social action project that will positively impact their local area.

Through the English Football League Trust, over 1.8 million hours of voluntary work has been delivered addressing local and national issues which young people are passionate about such as mental health, the environment and plastic waste. In partnership with EFL Trust, Brentford FC Community Sports Trust won the contract to deliver NCS from 2020 onwards joining 65 delivery partners that will be managed by EFL Trust.

Luke Skelhorn, the Trust's Operations Director, is excited to be a part of the new NCS network of partners who will deliver its flagship programme for young people over the next five years.,He said: “We are looking forward to engaging with more young people through the NCS programme – equipping thousands of young people with important life skills. We thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the pilot last year, our social action project involved an intergenerational cooking project with older people. We look forward to expanding on these exciting new initiatives next year.”

Mike Evans, Director of Operations, EFL Trust, is delighted with the amount of Football Clubs involved in NCS going forward. He said: “The EFL Trust’s vision is to create a stronger, healthier more active communities and we see the delivery of NCS as a significant part of achieving this. We are delighted to be able to grow our supply chain of Club Community Organisations and youth organsations involved in NCS and are proud of the impact we have had through NCS so far. Supporting thousands of young people as they transition into adulthood and then in turn make a positive difference in their community is something to be immensely proud of, and we look forward to continuing that in the future.”

Michael Lynas, Chief Executive of NCS Trust, added: “I’m incredibly proud of everything that NCS has achieved in the last ten years. As it moves into the next phase of its life, I’m confident NCS can make a more significant difference for our young people and their communities than ever before.”