Tyler Roberts paid a visit to Leeds United Foundation’s Premier League Kicks programme recently as part of their on-going project with youngsters in the Halton Moor area.

The Leeds United forward spent time meeting young people aged from 15 to 19 at one of the free to attend football sessions that are delivered by staff from the club’s official charity seven days a week in the area.

During the session Tyler found more out about the programme, which involves football coaching and education sessions, and how successful it has been in engaging with hard-to-reach children in the community. The Whites’ star also spent time answering some questions from the teenagers, signing autographs and having some photos taken with them.

Speaking after the visit, the Welsh International said: “It’s great to come and see first-hand some of the work the club are doing in the community, just coming down here tonight, meeting these guys and answering some of their questions – hopefully it was as good an experience for them as it was for me.

“All of the lads have been involved in different visits this season with the foundation and they’ve all really enjoyed them, so many of the people we meet are fans as well so it’s important we go and show them support like they do for us.”

Premier League Kicks (PL Kicks) was developed in 2014 to encourage hard-to-reach 8 to 19 year olds from across local communities to get involved in constructive activities in a safe environment.

This innovative scheme delivered at Meadowfield Primary School is part of the PL Kicks project and has expanded over the season thanks to funding from Leeds City Council’s outer east housing advisory panel, Veolia and the council’s outer east community committee.

Joe Scargill, the Foundation’s Premier League Kicks Project Officer, said: “One of our aims through KICKS is to raise the aspirations of young people within Leeds. Having Tyler Roberts come to the session and hear him speak about how deeply the football club cares about its community is inspiring and something that will stick with this group for a long time. 

“In Halton Moor we have open access sporting provision available across the entire week. This, thanks to the funding we've achieved, has really helped engage the young people living in this area and is having a long-standing impact on them as individuals.” 

For more information on the project, please contact Joe.Scargill@leedsunited.com.