One of Ebbsfleet United’s community partners, The Gr@nd Gravesend, are running more of their successful ‘Back to Football’ courses during 2014 and early 2015.

When they launched the initiative in the early summer, a group of 16 men from Gravesham put on their boots and stepped out onto the pitch at Stonebridge Road to start their ‘Back to Football’ programme. Of that squad, many hadn’t played football for some time and a few had never played before. After two hours of basic skills delivered by a coach from local side Guru Nanak FC, one of Kent’s few multi-faith football clubs, the group completed an eight-a-side game at the end of which all concluded the first session had been a great success.

Twelve weeks on and The Gr@nd’s first ‘Back to Football’ squad have met and trained weekly each Wednesday at 6:30pm at Guru Nanak Sports Field, Khalsa Avenue (off Trinity Road), Gravesend, culminating in 30-minute matches at the end of each session. The training has had a dramatic impact on the group’s fitness levels and stamina – as well as being great fun.

The Gr@nd’s ‘Back to Football’ coordinator, Amit Hayer said “There have been some standout successes during the programme; following one practice game against a Guru Nanak FC youth side, two members of the squad were asked to join in training with the adult Guru Nanak FC squads”.

So if any Fleet fans fancy coming along and working on their football skills and learning some new ones, contact Rav at The Gr@nd on 01474 320123 or [email protected] for details of how to join.