Nelson and Colne College A level student and community captain honoured by Premier League

Jamaal Sajid (17), who has a conditional offer to study medicine at Cambridge, was presented with the Premier League Kicks Community Captain award pennant and special captain’s armband at the Leisure Box in Brierfield by Burnley FC players Jay Rodriguez and Josh Cullen.

Jamaal was also immortalised in a huge mural on the wall of the sports hall – which hosts weekly Premier League Kicks sessions.

Clubs across the Premier League, EFL and National League are naming a Community Captain, somebody at the heart of their Premier League-funded programmes who deserves recognition for their commitment and contribution to the game and their local community.

Jamaal volunteers via the Premier League Kicks initiative, run in conjunction with Burnley FC in the Community. The programme creates opportunities for young people through sport, mentoring and personal development opportunities.

He has also supported the charity by utilising the Clarets Youth Board platform to share his thoughts and pitch his ideas with senior members of Burnley FC in the Community, while providing staff with ideas for educational workshops, referring friends and fellow college students to their sessions, and encouraging others to access all the programmes they offer.

Jamaal has been rewarded for his journey and the impact on his local community by having a unique mural painted at the local Leisure Box facility, which hosts weekly PL Kicks sessions, as he was named as Burnley's Community Captain as part of the Premier League's “More than a game” campaign.

Launched in 2006 to create safer and more inclusive communities Premier League Kicks has had a significant impact on people and places over the last 18 years.

Gary Goldsmith, who teaches Jamaal Chemistry at Nelson and Colne College, said: “There’s no one more deserving for this award than Jamaal. He is an outstanding student academically and the extracurricular and volunteering work he undertakes with enthusiasm and commitment is quite remarkable. He’s a fantastic example to the rest of his peers and I know he’ll go on to be a success in whatever field he sets his mind to.”