21
May
2015
|
09:00
Europe/London

Arsenal and England star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain fronts new documentary for the supporters club

Summary

Arsenal and England footballer Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain reflects on his personal and footballing journeys in a powerful new documentary by BT Sport Films, which explores the positive influence football has on young people.

Latest BT Sport film sees England winger explore football’s ability to inspire young lives through moving stories from the UK and Tanzania

Arsenal and England footballer Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain reflects on his personal and footballing journeys in a powerful new documentary by BT Sport Films, which explores the positive influence football has on young people.

Football Stories with The Ox, fronted by BT Sport ambassador Oxlade-Chamberlain, premieres on BT Sport 2 on Sunday May 31 at 3.30pm, and charts football-inspired success stories, including Matty from Sheffield and Eladi from Tanzania. Matty, who at one time was unemployed and suffered with low self-esteem, used the confidence gained from football charity Street League to secure employment as trainer assistant at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service. The film explores how football is used in different settings to inspire young people and assist them in creating more positive futures for themselves.

In the film, twenty-year-old Matty visits the academy in Sheffield, drawing on his own experiences to pass on advice to the new academy of young people and talk about how football helped him realise his personal goals.

In Tanzania, the film follows Eladi, a young person with HIV. Eladi, through TackleAfrica, was able to come to terms with his illness and used the sport to gain confidence and integrate back into his community.

The documentary explores the work of Street League, which works with unemployed young people, in Sheffield, where unemployment has been an issue and TackleAfrica, a charity that uses football to educate young people about HIV awareness in Tanzania. Both charities have been funded by The Supporters Club, BT Sport’s initiative that aims to build a better world through sport.

The film follows Bashir, who runs The Supporters Club-funded Street League academy in Sheffield, and who has worked with unemployed youth for 10 years. Bashir discusses how football is making a difference to the young people on the programme.

The film also follows 18-year-old Monica in Tanzania, a football coach who started out as a footballer in one of TackleAfrica’s programmes, and Hilda, a former Tanzanian national football star who runs the charity’s football sessions. After losing her aunt and guardian to an HIV-related illness, Monica was left to care for her elderly mother and young sister, consequently dropping out of school. TackleAfrica provided her with the education and support needed to get her life back on track.

TackleAfrica aims to educate young people on HIV awareness through fun, interactive football sessions, so that they can make safer decisions, limiting the impact of HIV and improving their quality of life.

“The Ox” talks openly about the issues that the young people in the film are facing, while reflecting on how important football was to his own personal development. He said: “You cannot over-estimate the positive impact that football has on young people. I’ve experienced it myself in my own career first hand through my career with Southampton, Arsenal and England. The stories of Bashir, Matty and Eladi and others in this film are a real inspiration.”

Enquiries about this news release should be made to the BT Group Newsroom on its 24-hour number: 020 7356 5369. From outside the UK dial + 44 20 7356 5369. Email newsroom@bt.com.

All news releases can be accessed at our web site: http://www.btplc.com/News

 

Notes to editors

About The Supporters Club

The Supporters Club aims to build a better world by bringing people together through sport. Donations from BT and our customers are invested into projects selected in partnership with Comic Relief. When customers sign up to BT Sport, they are able to make a recurring £1, £3 or £5 monthly subscription to The Supporters Club to help support these and other similar projects.

About BT

BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in more than 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband, TV and internet products and services; and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of five lines of business: BT Global Services, BT Business, BT Consumer, BT Wholesale and Openreach.

For the year ended 31 March 2015, BT Group’s reported revenue was £17,979mwith reported profit before taxation of £2,645m.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York. For more information, visit btplc.com.