Iwobi celebrates community milestone

Alex Iwobi spent Wednesday afternoon with Arsenal in the Community's estates football programme.

Alex was there to mark the 10th anniversary of our 'Kicks' project - which uses football as a way to positively engage young people in the local area - and celebrate the achievements of one of its members Dillon White.

Over the past decade, Dillon has gone from taking part in sessions after school to gaining coaching badges himself. He is now an Arsenal Kicks coach, offering football and mentoring support to a new generation of young participants.

Alex was on hand to reward Dillon's hard work and resilience, naming him Arsenal's 'Premier League Kicks Hero' and presenting him with a comic book strip that tells the story of his journey through the programme.

Dillon said of the day: "When I first got involved, it just felt good to be doing something football related with my team, Arsenal. But Kicks is about more than football. It's a way of giving encouragemt and support to people who might need it. As an Arsenal in the Community coach now, I'm proud to be playing my part in that for the next generation."

Alex added: "Meeting Dillon and the rest of the guys was a pleasure. They were just like how I was a few years ago, so it's incredible to see that Arsenal can play a role in helping them to do well."

Dillon is one of many special individuals to have come through Kicks down the years. Nationwide, the Premier League Kicks programme has engaged more than 180,000 young people in weekly football, sport and personal development sessions since 2006.

Premier League Kicks works to create safer, stronger and more respectful communities through the development of young peoples’ potential, whilst giving them access to facilities, coaching and mentoring.