England star and Chase ambassador Bukayo Saka enjoyed an emotional reunion with his first ever grassroots football coach, Colin Nixon, to celebrate the amazing impact coaches can have on individuals and their local communities.

Nixon, who coached a six-year-old Saka at his local west London club, Greenford Celtic, took a trip down memory lane with the world-class winger, with the reunion coming after Chase and the Home Nationals Football Associations teamed up to create the Chase football coaching programme.

The Chase football coaching programme provides fully funded access to 2,900 introductory coaching qualifications and 85 professional coaching bursaries to support individuals where cost is a barrier across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

And after reflecting upon his rise as an Arsenal and England star, Chase ambassador Saka was full of praise for the programme for its role in supporting grassroots football coaching.

“It was good to see Colin again. He was the one who gave me my first opportunity in grassroots football, and the first coach that helped me to develop my skills,” said Saka.

“Coaches like Colin are the role models that kids need. If you go on to play professionally or not, they give you guidance and skills that can last a lifetime.

“That’s why Chase and the Home Nations Football Associations are providing people with opportunities to get their coaching qualifications, which will allow them to develop important skills and play an inspirational role in their local communities.”

In providing access to fully funded coaching qualifications, Chase is helping more people from low-income communities unlock their potential, increasing representation in coaching to inspire future generations, and helping to build pathways towards future employment.

Recent UK-wide research from YouGov, commissioned by Chase, also revealed the power role models can have amongst people from low-income backgrounds, with more than half of those surveyed saying they’d be more likely to progress their coaching journey if they had role models available from more diverse backgrounds.

Alongside positively impacting the local community, existing coaches also believe that coaching can be the gateway to transferable skills leading to future employment, with 3 in 4 saying their qualification has helped them develop key life skills and 62% believing it has made them more employable.

Nixon added: “Bukayo had a special talent from a young age, with a wonderful attitude, so I’m incredibly proud to see him go on and achieve so much with both his club and for his country.

"Coaching is very rewarding and gives you a wonderful chance to positively impact peoples' lives. It’s great that the Chase football coaching programme is opening the career up to more people, so I hope we can inspire others to start their coaching journey and make a real difference."

For more information on the Chase football coaching programme, visit: https://www.chase.co.uk/gb/en/chase-football-coaching-programme/