Arsenal double club marks 25 years of education programme

It was Arsene Wenger's first full season as manager, and taking inspiration, the club set up a community education scheme called The Arsenal Double Club.

Now, 25 years later it's one of the longest-running programmes of its kind in the country and has seen top Arsenal stars taking part including Dennis Bergkamp, Alex Scott, Sol Campbell, Patrick Vieira, and Jack Wilshere.

Players including Bacary Sagna have taken part in the sessions (Image: Arsenal F.C)

The innovative programme, which combines football and learning, has been supporting primary school children in Hackney, Islington, and Camden and has reached around 10,000 youngsters.

It mirrors the two halves of a football game, with 45-minutes of classroom education, followed by 45 minutes of football coaching to engage students in physical activity and promote teamwork.

The scheme mirrors the two halves of a football game with 45 minutes in the classroom and 45 minutes learning football skills (Image: Arsenal F.C)

It was originally launched as a literacy intervention programme, but today the club covers a wide range of subjects including science, languages, history, business studies and geography, as well teaching mindfulness and wellbeing.

Aligned with the core principles of Arsenal Academy's "Strong Young Gunners" philosophy, Double Club focusses on giving students essential life skills and is now running in more than 30 after-school clubs across London and Hertfordshire, with additional weekend and holiday clubs.

Bukayo Saka visits pupils as part of Arsenal's Double Club (Image: Arsenal F.C)

The programme is also used as part of Arsenal in the Community’s work in pupil referral units, special schools and prisons, and Double Club materials have also been used in projects overseas.

Henry Milton Arsenal in the Community’s Primary Education Curriculum Lead said: “The success of the Double Club is built upon the creation of Arsenal-themed national curriculum resources.Johan Djourou joins pupils who have completed the Double Club curriculum (Image: Arsenal F.C)

"These include activities centred around players from both our men's and women's teams. It's truly amazing to witness the impact these resources have in classroom settings.

"We're fortunate to have players who are eager to participate. Over the years, we've welcomed visits from renowned players like Dennis Bergkamp, Alex Scott, Sol Campbell, Patrick Vieira, and Jack Wilshere, among others.

The Club has reached 10,000 youngsters over 25 years (Image: Arsenal F.C)

"One of the most enjoyable aspects of our work is hearing from individuals that took part in the Double Club years ago.

"They remember it fondly and talk about their experiences on the programme. We estimate that over 10,000 young people have taken part in the programme to date."

For more information visit: www.arsenal.com/thearsenalfoundation