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ARSENAL: Arsenal in the Community takes centre stage

/noticias.info/ Health, education, crime, sport, environment, charity, social inclusion... The reach of Arsenal in the Community is greater than ever before and continues to expand as the department approaches its 25th anniversary.

Alan Sefton has been there nearly every step of the way - he joined Arsenal in 1986 and now heads up the Community operation. As he explains, Arsenal's work in its local area remains vital to improving the standard of life for people of all ages.

"The department is very healthy," said Sefton. "There is more money coming into activities like this because people from all sectors genuinely believe that football can improve the quality of life and solve certain problems within our society.

"Those problems go right across the board from sport to crime, health and education. Everyone feels that an association with the premier local club will improve their chances of success. We have a long way to go, there is a lot more we can do, but I'm delighted to say that the programme is still expanding.

"I'm not surprised how quickly the department has grown because I always thought the sky was the limit. Everybody wanted to be associated with professional football when we started and now the Premier League has brought even more glamour.

"We just want to try and raise the standard of life within the inner cities. We want to raise the bar so there will always be something to be done. Knife crime is the problem of the moment but issues like obesity haven't gone away either so there is much work to be done.

"As for the future, it's really about carrying on with vitality and energy to achieve the marvellous things we can do, thanks to that enduring and popular name of Arsenal Football Club."

This week on Arsenal.com we'll be examining exactly how the name - and work - of Arsenal Football Club benefits the local community and beyond. We'll hear from Sefton himself and Scott Cohen, a driving force behind the Club's successful Double Club education scheme.

With video footage from of a range of Community events, Q&As with other key figures in the department and more besides, Arsenal fans can take this opportunity to learn more about the Club's impact off the pitch. We hope you enjoy it. notas_de_prensa_archivo