CONTEXT Cheltenham FC is a professional football club based in Cheltenham, in the London Borough of Hounslow. The club's Academy programme is committed to scouting and developing young players who will potentially reach professional status. However, regardless of the level of success achieved in football, Apprentices receive advice and education that provide a solid platform from which they can move forward and make sound decisions in life. The framework for this education is the Advanced Apprentice in Sporting Excellence (AASE) programme, a unique sporting vocational qualification for young people with the realistic potential to achieve excellence in their sport by competing on the world stage or securing a professional contract. OBJECTIVES The primary aim of this project was to enhance and improve the vocational training and development of Apprentices on the Cheltenham FC AASE programme. Working with host partner Benfica in Portugal, the project also aimed to provide greater exit and progression opportunities for Apprentices upon completion of the programme. The project had 3 overarching strategic objectives: 1) Facilitating the transfer of European training methods, development environments, techniques and philosophies into both the Cheltenham FC AASE programme and Apprentices. 2) Exposing the Apprentices to the European opportunities in both sport and other careers so these can be explored and more readily understood, accepted and pursued in the future. 3) Embedding LLP principles into the training and development programme and working cultures in order to equip Apprentices with the aptitude and skills to pursue employment, either within sport or outside of it, throughout their career. NUMBER AND PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS Participants were the 19 (male) Apprentices undertaking the Cheltenham FC AASE programme in the 2015/2016 football season (i.e. the 2014 and 2015 cohorts). These Apprentices were selected for the AASE programme primarily on the basis of their football ability and therefore incorporated a wide range of academic abilities, socioeconomic circumstances and ethnic backgrounds. PROJECT ACTIVITIES The majority of the project activities took place at Benfica's Caixa Futebol Campus facility, including: - Regular training sessions to address the defined sports performance targets, delivered by both Cheltenham FC and Benfica professional coaches. - Games versus high quality Portugese youth teams. - Daily feedback and evaluation sessions to confirm goal setting/reflection. - Presentations from Benfica coaches and staff on various theoretical aspects of professional football development including the psychological attributes of elite athletes and Benfica's world renowned Youth Development model. Benfica has outstanding links at a local, regional and national level which enabled Cheltenham FC to enhance the activities of participants. For example: - Access to Sporting Lisbon and AD Oeiras, with activities including training sessions and games at their high quality training facilities. - A visit to the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). - Observation of a live top flight (Liga Zon Sagres) fixture. METHODOLGY Cheltenham FC used the principles of the European Quality Charter for Mobility to set goals and define tasks for the key elements of the project. In summary this included: 1) INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE: production of clear and accessible resources for all project stakeholders throughout the project preparation and delivery phases. 2) LEARNING PLANS: clearly defining the project objectives and individual participant learning outcomes and the role of each partner in achieving them. 3) PERSONALISATION: pre-visit assessment of participants' desired learning outcomes via questionnaires and one-to-one assessment. 4) PREPARATION: a structured preparation programme tailored to individual needs. 5) LANGUAGE: provision of basic language training. 6) LOGISTICS: a formal contract signed by both parties outlining practical and logistical responsibilities. 7) MENTORING: provision of suitably qualified staff to facilitate achievement of individual goals and ensure integration. 8) RECOGNITION: delivery of formal vocational instruments to recognise individual learning outcomes. 9) EVALUATION: comprehensive and objective evaluation of all aspects of the project. 10) RESPONSIBILITIES: agreement by all parties on their roles and responsibilities in the successful delivery of the project, formalised in writing via a Service Level Agreement and individual participant Learning Plans. IMPACTS The impacts on participants included: - Progress against recognised vocational qualifications (i.e. BTEC Sport, NVQ in Achieving Excellence in Sports Performance). - Development of life skills and experience that can be utilised throughout participants' education and careers. - Enhanced cultural and linguistic skills, facilitating openness to new opportunities both in the UK and Europe.