About Us

Surrey County Cricket Club - The Ace ProgrammePhotographer Ashley Western

HOW WE STARTED

The ACE Programme was launched by Surrey County Cricket Club in January 2020 in response to the decline of the black British professional players by 75%, and less than 1% of the recreational game. The ACE Programme was designed to engage young people of African and Caribbean Heritage and a talent search was launched.

In Black History Month of October 2020, following significant investment of £540,000 from Sport England, The ACE Programme Charity launched as an independent charity. This achievement followed in the success of an ACE Academy where 25 talented players became ACE scholars and the charity made strides to have a wider national impact.

The charity aims to 'Support Diverse Talent from the Grassroots to the Elite' in the following ways:

TALENT PATHWAYS

The charity aims to build grassroots cricket programmes, develop talent pathways and talent ID systems in targeted black communities and cities across the UK. ACE will provide sessions and opportunities for local communities to engage with cricket in as many ways as possible.

ELITE ACADEMY

Provide elite academy programmes and scholarships to talented players to allow them to fulfil their potential. The academy and scholars also will act as an inspirational piece to the the community.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

ACE will support the development of quality coaches and volunteers from the community as well as provide mentoring to support players, coaches and families.

Creating leaders in cricket will allow for cricket to thrive, grow and develop. Through providing assistance to locale coaches and volunteers, we hope to increase the amount of people available to provide fun and engaging sessions within their local communities, thus creating more opportunities for local youngsters to take part in cricket and grow within the game.

Vision

The ACE Programme Charity aims to inspire the wider game to support reconnecting the Black community with cricket.

The vision is to be a catalyst to accelerate change with the ambition to become a national charity operating in multiple cities with target communities.

ACE will provide equal opportunity equality for females, and will look to develop key strategic partnerships and capture key insights as the charity grows.

ACE also appreciates the chance for sport to have a wider impact on the community.