It is 5pm in Brighton, the sun has set, but the skies are still teeming with rain. On a five-a-side pitch at the top of one of the city’s many inclines, a group of determined girls are being put through their paces by a coach from Albion in the Community. They’re running hard, working through passing exercises, keeping warm. And at the side of the pitch is the Premier League’s chief executive, Richard Masters, standing under an umbrella looking happy.
Masters describes the community and social programmes his competition supports as “the other half of the Premier League”. His trip to Brighton commemorates the beginning of a process that will anoint 100 “community captains”, celebrating the work of individuals in clubs up and down the football pyramid. He says: “I’ve always said if other stuff might be getting you down and you need an injection of enthusiasm, just go to a community programme and you’ll feel better about what you’re involved in.”
