This month, CITC sat down with Elizabeth, a second-year student on the City BTEC course at Ashton Sixth Form College.
In September 2025 Elizabeth injured her foot during a game, which meant she could not participate in football and left her worried it would negatively impact her mental health.
Alongside her studies, Elizabeth is also a young carer for her mother, who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis. She finds the course provides respite from her home life responsibilities.
In the interview, Elizabeth discusses how CITC supported her through her injury as well as supporting her as a carer.
She said: “Before this course I thought I wouldn’t be able to do anything within my future as I didn’t really have that mindset or motivation.
“This course has really helped me to know that no matter what’s going on at home I can be determined to keep going, being resilient.”
The City BTEC course is delivered in three colleges across Greater Manchester and is a two-year education programme.
A team of dedicated coaches deliver a holistic education of football, supporting those who want to develop their skills and abilities on the pitch as well as receiving classroom-based education.
Qualifications on offer at each college are:
• Ashton Sixth Form College – BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport
• Connell Co-op College – Sports Coaching and Development BTEC Sport and Exercise Science.
• Oldham College – BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport and Level 2 Sports.
Sitting under CITC’s Healthy Futures pillar, the course aims to be totally inclusive, offering places to both male and female participants without trials.
If you are in year 10 and exploring your future; you can register your interest to CITC’s BTEC course here: https://tr.ee/zZvpTw
If you want to support CITC, enter this month’s Prize Draw competition, for the chance to win a Blue Carpet Experience, a signed shirt and more.
The City in the Community Prize Draw is powered by Raise Your Game and your support will go towards sustaining the charity’s programmes, which empower healthier lives through football.
Entries start at £5 per ticket; fans can enter on a one-off basis, or they can sign up to a direct debit, meaning they enter the draw monthly automatically. *
City in the Community empowers healthier lives through football.
To find out more, visit www.mancity.com/citc or follow @citcmancity on social media.
*Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Cambodia, Qatar, Lebanon, and North Korea are the only excluded countries from the prize draw.
