Former Norwich City captain Adam Drury is returning to the Club in a new role, designed to provide an

additional level of support to talented young local footballers.

Drury, who made 361 appearances for the Canaries in over a decade at Carrow Road, has taken up the position of lead coach for the new Norwich City Elite Football Development Programme (EFDP) - an exciting new tier in Norwich City FC’s player pathway.

The programme is for 16 to 18-year-olds, and combines 11-a-side football development with a BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport and Exercise Science at Easton & Otley College.

Drury will head up the football element, which will see the players compete as the ‘Norwich City Canaries’ against similar sides from other professional clubs such as Chelsea, Tottenham, Watford, and Crystal Palace.

The new EFDP will shadow the existing Norwich City Academy Under-18 squad. Academy manager Gregg Broughton stressed the importance of increasing the Club’s player base:

“It’s an exciting step for us as a Football Club. With Premier League players making their professional debuts at an increasingly later age, it’s essential that our player base gives us the chance to monitor more of the best players in the area up until the age of 18.”

Drury, 37, is playing an active part in the recruitment process for the inaugural

2016/17 programme, and is looking forward to working with some talented young footballers:

“It’s a really exciting prospect for these players to pull on the yellow and green and represent Norwich City on a regular basis against other top clubs.

“I had the thrill of doing it at the highest level and I can’t wait to get onto the training pitch and work with these players and pass on whatever experience I can, to help them develop.”

Support with Drury’s new role will come from Ian Thornton, Director of the Community Sports Foundation, UEFA A Licence Coach, and FA Coach Educator, who said:

“Having someone like Adam on board as lead coach for this squad is a real plus and I’m looking forward to working with him and the players.

“He was a superb professional, and is an ideal role model for any young player looking to continue their development in the game,” added Ian.

Since retiring from football in 2014, Drury has become an ambassador for the Community Sports Foundation, and earlier this year he completed the Virgin Money London Marathon to raise money for the Foundation’s work with disabled and disadvantaged people locally.

The EFDP is not all football however; a key factor in the new programme is the

strong emphasis on the players’ academic development, as each will complete their BTEC at Easton & Otley College – a Community Sports Foundation hub site.

Matt Breese, Sports and Tennis Manager at the college said:

“We’re (Easton & Otley College) very excited to work with Norwich City Football Club and the Community Sports Foundation to develop the programme. To work with such prestigious partners on a project such as this is great for the college.”

The Community Sports Foundation already runs a Futsal Development Programme for 16 to 18-year-olds at several venues across the county such as Norwich, Great Yarmouth, Thetford, and Stalham. This programme serves as another further education opportunity for young people, while representing Norwich City in the Football League Trust’s National Futsal League.

With the East Norfolk Elite Football Development Programme, a further 11-a-side scheme launching in Great Yarmouth, and the four Futsal venues already in existence, over 180 young people will be able to continue their further education and sporting development with Norwich City Football Club from September 2016.

To � nd out more about the Foundation’s football education programmes, visit www.communitysportsfoundation.org.uk, call 01603 761122, or email info@communitysportsfoundation.org.uk

CSF • 01603 761122 • INFO@COMMUNITYSPORTSFOUNDATION.ORG.UK • COMMUNITYSPORTSFOUNDATION.ORG.UK •

• @NORWICHCITYCSF • FACEBOOK.COM/COMMUNITYSPORTSFOUNDATION •

CITY LEGEND ON THE LOOKOUT FOR TALENTED YOUNGSTERS

Community Sports Foundation, Norwich City FC, Carrow Road, Norwich, NR1 1JE. Registered charity 1088239 OTBC 57