Aston Villa Football Club have today launched tennis as one of two new additions to their successful Premier League 4 Sport (PL4S) programme at King Edward School in Aston, Birmingham. This year will see the introduction of tennis and golf to the roster of sports promoted by Aston Villa to help foster a legacy of sport participation following London 2012.
The launch, in association with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and the Golf Foundation, was attended by AEGON GB Davis Cup Team player Dan Evans, Aston Villa players Joe Bennett and Matt Lowton, as well as Felicity Johnson, a golfer on the LPGA Tour.
Speaking at the launch, Dan Evans said: “As a Villa fan it’s been great to see that the club has been working with the LTA to get more children involved in tennis. It’s important to give more children the chance to get playing and the Premier League 4 Sport programme is a great way to get involved. Tennis is such a great sport, and I’d encourage everybody to give it a go.”
PL4S is a programme funded by the Premier League and Sport England to encourage young people aged 14 and over to actively participate in Olympic and Paralympic sports. The programme was created when the Premier League joined forces with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic bid team to build a lasting legacy after the Games. The programme has already helped over 700 young people to take part in sport through Villa’s schemes alone last year.
As well as golf and tennis, the 2013/14 season will be the first season promoting girl’s football through the scheme. Badminton, basketball, hockey, judo and table tennis are already included in the Aston Villa PL4S programme. Each of the eight sports will be delivered in various locations across Birmingham and the surrounding area.