A young volunteer from Ratcliffe College has been doing a tremendous job helping our young players at our Saturday Development sessions.

Ibrahim has been volunteering with us for throughout the summer and autumn, and has shown great commitment and professionalism with the young children. Ibrahim is a student from Ratcliffe College and wanted to spread his community wings and volunteer with children and young people to continue his personal development. He has done an amazing job and the club are proud that he chose us to dedicate his time to.

A big thank you from Nirvana. - more than just football.

By Domie Kamanda

I was able to spend a day at Leicester Nirvana FC and experience a regular Saturday morning. This was highly insightful for me as I had never experienced grassroots football before and I was keen to record my findings, as well as the key information I’d acquired from parents.

As I arrived at 9am – an extremely early start I might add, I realised that the volunteers of Nirvana had arrived far earlier than me. The first part of the morning was for children as young as 5 years of age, and the session was focused on techniques, their all-round development and much around having fun. The entire session took place with the ball at their feet and I was able to see them developing their skills as well as communicating with each other. The session also allowed parents to be involved and interact with their children in such an active way that the children benefitted heavily. They also walked away from the session very happy. This left a deep impression on me as the children were able to fall in love with football and enjoy it to the fullest, which was a nice site to see.
I learnt that there is a real community feel at this club.

I was able to ask parents about their impressions of Nirvana. They praised the club’s community and family values. Stating that there is real support felt, not just for the children but also for the parents. There was also a big mention of the diversity at the club. A variety of children are able to come together and work together as well as learning from each other and that will only benefit them in the long run. Parents also mentioned the different values that the children gain at the club: resilience, teamwork, confidence, discipline and commitment. These are all essential values that will benefit the children later in life, and learning them whilst enjoying themselves helps to engrain these values into them in their early years.

The parents had a very positive outlook on the club and couldn’t speak more highly, so much so that they told me they would highly recommend the club.

In conclusion, my day was quite eye opening. I was able to delve into the world of grassroots football, muddy pitches and all, and see first-hand the efforts by volunteers and the joy of the children. As I was reading the website, I came across the mission statement and it really struck me. “Use football as a vehicle to empower and provide opportunities for all young people”. I truly believe that quote is being carried out to the fullest and I hope to be able to see it continue to support the development of the children and young people they serve.

We wanted to highlight the FA’s updated guidance from the 23rd December on the latest information on COVID-19 specifically for Tier 4 areas, and what this means for football now across our county.

Football for adult participants across ‘non-elite’ football in Tier 4 areas is not permitted, including all training and fixtures.

The government’s Tier 4 guidance states organised outdoor sport for under-18s and disabled people will be allowed.. The government’s guidelines on travel between tiers should be adhered to. These players cannot move in or out of Tier 4 to train or play. Therefore:

• Youth fixtures and training will be permitted subject to full adherence to Government FA and Club regulations and protocols for social distancing and covid compliance. It is important to note that players, coaches and parents are not permitted to travel into or out of Tier 4 for training or fixtures.

• It is permissible for youth fixtures (u18 and below) and training to take place in tier 4. 

It is extremely important that clubs, players, coaches, match officials, league officials, volunteers, parents, carers, and facility providers in Tiers 1 to 3 (and permitted football in Tier 4) continue to strictly follow both the UK Government's latest guidance on COVID-19 and respective bespoke guidance documents from The FA. Any incidents of non-compliance needs to be reported to us.

Welcome to the Nirvana External Newsletter. Read about some the great things the club are getting up to.

https://mailchi.mp/9cff6f5399e1/valj0poa2a

Football will be stopped from Thursday 5th November 2020 until further notice.

The new lockdown rules means that once again we have to suspend our training and games. The Government insists it is necessary to reduce the risk of transmission through the mixing of households. We are very disappointed at the decision to halt grassroots football once again just as the children and adults were starting to enjoy being part of a team again.

We hope to back as soon as Government restrictions allow, and would hope that you stay safe and bare with us in this difficult time.

Leicester Nirvana

BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/54787598

(Government pages should be updated regularly)

New Government guidance from 5 November https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november

Local restrictions https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-covid-alert-level-high