BARNES & ROBERTS JOIN IN ACTIVITIES AT BFCITC’S LEISURE BOX!

Main Club Sponsor

TICKETS

SHOP

Players support Club’s official charity

2025-08-14T11:00:00.000Z

BARNES & ROBERTS JOIN IN ACTIVITIES AT BFCITC’S LEISURE BOX!

Players support Club’s official charity

2025-08-14T11:00:00.000Z

Players support Club’s official charity

Ashley Barnes and Connor Roberts recently visited Burnley FC in the Community’s facility, The Leisure Box, to open their brand-new padel court and spend time with young people from across the charity’s targeted intervention programme and activity camps.

Burnley FC in the Community’s Champions programme is run in partnership with the Lancashire Violence Reduction Network and supports young people aged 10–25 who have experience of, or are at risk of, offending behaviours. Two fantastic young people from the programme, Yadel and Harley, came down on the day to meet the players and share their own stories before going head-to-head in a sugar cube stacking race.

BARNES & ROBERTS JOIN IN ACTIVITIES AT BFCITC’S LEISURE BOX! - Image 1

Ashley and Connor then took to the padel court to cut the ribbon and officially open the facility. The court will bring one of the UK’s fastest-growing sports to the heart of our community and provide opportunities for people of all ages to get active.

The visit concluded with a trip to the charity’s activity camps, which run every half-term and give young people the chance to make memories and have fun. Many of the children, already proudly wearing the brand-new kit, wasted no time getting to know the players and making the most of photo opportunities.

BARNES & ROBERTS JOIN IN ACTIVITIES AT BFCITC’S LEISURE BOX! - Image 2

Burnley FC in the Community Chief Executive Officer, Helen Gurman said: “These visits mean a great deal to our participants, many of whom are lifelong Burnley fans. Today’s visit was not only a lot of fun, but also a fantastic opportunity to show the players the wide range of work that happens under one roof. This marks the start of our player visits for the season, and we’re really excited to continue bringing the team into the community, creating lasting memories and making a real impact along the way.”

Ashley Barnes told us: “This facility is phenomenal. Every young kid or anyone in the community – what a place to come and visit – to have this on the doorstep is amazing for them.

“I love padel. It’s probably a second sport for me now, I play it that much. It’s something that I’ll be looking forward to now and I’m sure most of the lads will want to come down and play. It’s nice for us to come down to visit and give something back.”

To learn more about how you can get involved in any of Burnley FC in the Community’s programmes mentioned above, please visit: https://burnleyfccommunity.org