THE Worcestershire FA Youth Council is hoping to inspire more young people into grassroots football at an event later this year.

Made up of 12 youngsters from across the county, the group will be running an activity day for 12 to 24 year olds at the University of Worcester on Saturday, May 11.

Running between 10am and 4.30pm, it will highlight the opportunities for young people to work within the sport as either coaches or administrators.

The group have been given £300 by O2 Think Big for the event and Malvern student Jack Coleman has spearheaded the application.

The 18-year-old, a football coach in his spare time, said: “I’m absolutely chuffed with this funding from O2 Think Big.

“It means we can do so much more with our activity day than we ever thought we could this year.

“The event we’re putting on will hopefully make a really big difference in training people in how they should work in football and will help get them where they want to be.”

O2 Think Big Project give grants to schemes that aim to help their community. Anyone interested can visit their website worcestershirefa.com/volunteers/football-futures Meanwhile, a dedicated football coach has received a prestigious scholarship for her talent and commitment to the sport.

Lauren Tidman, a PGCE Primary Education student at the University of Worcester, has been awarded the Football Association Coaching Scholarship.

The 21-year-old was chosen as one of the six young coaches in the region after her hard work in training a number of local teams caught the attention of the programme panel.

Miss Tidman, from Telford, who started her coaching practice at the age of 16, said: “I feel very lucky to be selected for the scholarship.

“It is a great bonus to all of my hard work and it feels great to know that you have the support to develop your skills professionally in the thing you are good at doing.

“When I complete my PGCE and the FA qualifications, I want to become a Physical Education co-ordinator in a primary school.”

She added: “I really enjoy working with children and I believe I can make a difference.”

Miss Tidman, who completed her Sports Coaching Science degree at the university, started playing football at the age of 11.

She now coaches the Girls’ Player Development Centre and county schools teams and helps out at sports camps during the summer and half- term breaks.