We are extremely proud to have been chosen to engage with OUiTC and shows our commitment as a Charter Standard Community Club to work with our partners in Oxfordshire.

Oxford United in the Community has revealed its new vision designed to ramp up its scale of social impact programmes across Oxfordshire.

It will see the official charity of Oxford United extend its social impact delivery to embrace all members of the community, targeting those aged ‘two to 92’. It aims to provide every person in Oxfordshire with a positive connection via the football club and to inspire happier, healthier and better-connected communities.

Oxford United in the Community has partnered with charities and organisations to deliver the vision. The charity has formed a ‘hub and spoke’ operational structure to deliver programmes in up to 15 of Oxfordshire’s towns over the next three years.

Banbury has been selected as the pilot town and the charity has signed an initial three-year agreement to partner with Easington Sports FC.

The partnership will see the Hellenic League Premier Division Club assist with the delivery of social impact programmes by providing fully funded programmes such as Premier League Kicks and Premier League Primary Stars.

The club will also offer a range of paid football-based services and other football in the community activities in addition to identifying new opportunities to work with other organisations by offering activities to the people of Banbury.

Also, Easington Sports FC will carry out outreach and discovery work with community members to identify the existing community assets and how best to support local citizens to achieve their aspirations for themselves and their communities.

Chris Lowes, Head of Oxford United in the Community, said: “In creating this key ‘anchor partnership’, Easington Sports FC will become the primary relationship for our charity in Banbury and an important part of our hub and spoke model.

“As the initial town spoke and the pilot town for the testing of the wider strategy, it is expected that innovation and development will be key parts of this relationship, to discover what is most impactful and effective in terms of activities and operations.

“It is a very exciting development for us as it comes at a time when the need for increased support in communities has never been greater.”

Jamie Hunter, Club Secretary of Easington Sports FC, added: “We are delighted to partner with Oxford United in the Community as part of their vision to deliver more social action projects across Oxfordshire over the next three years.

“Providing fully funded programmes for young people in addition to reaching out to the local community via activities is an exciting development for our club and we are thrilled Banbury has been selected as the pilot town.”

The partnership was made possible thanks to funding from the Step Change Fund - an initiative facilitated by Oxfordshire Community Foundation (OCF) that focuses on strengthening the county’s charitable sector.

The vision was revealed at a virtual business event hosted by the Oxford Business Community Network. The charity team were joined by patron James Constable to outline the plans to members of the county’s business community.

A new charity website also funded by the Step Change Fund was also unveiled today as part of the development. It contains details of the work of the charity, upcoming programmes and how to get involved.

Visit www.ouitc.org to learn more about upcoming events and how you can support the charity’s new strategy.

Those interested in working with Oxford United in the Community should email community@oufc.co.uk for further information.