A landmark partnership between the University of Nottingham and Notts County Football Club is set to deliver exciting new developments in sporting performance, community enrichment and education for the city.
The new collaboration, which brings two of the city's oldest, world-renowned institutions together for the first time, will see the football club benefit from the university's state-of-the-art facilities, ground-breaking research and international links, while the club will provide amazing opportunities for the university's students to gain real-world insights and experience within elite sport.
The start of the relationship is being marked by the university's logo being proudly displayed on the club's brand new away and third kit designs unveiled earlier today ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Jo Simpson, Chief Commercial Officer at the University of Nottingham, said: "Our vision at the University of Nottingham is to change the world for the better. Local strategic partnerships are an incredibly important aspect of this, allowing us to share our outstanding teaching, learning and research to deliver real impact in our community.
"I am incredibly proud of our new partnership with Notts County FC. Their forward-thinking and innovative approach directly aligns with our values and through integrating two of Nottingham's most renowned organisations we have created a platform to deliver real change on a local and global scale."
Today marks a historic moment for our club as we unveil a ground-breaking partnership which will set a new standard for how an elite sports club integrates with the education sector.
He continued: "As the oldest professional football club, and founding members of the Football League, we were one of the pioneering forces behind the formation of the world's biggest sport. Innovation is in our DNA and will always be at the forefront of our strategy as we forge our own unique path towards success on and off the field.
"Crucial to our club realising its huge potential will be the forging of partnerships with organisations who don't just share our ethos, but who also have the resources, knowledge and passion to support our growth.
"We are therefore delighted to formalise our relationship with the University of Nottingham, who throughout their own esteemed history have placed discovery, enterprise, creativity and community values at the heart of everything they do – here in Nottingham and at all their campuses across the globe."
Under the new partnership, Notts County's first team's training base will move to the university's first-class sports facilities at David Ross Sports Village on University Park Campus, providing players with access to high-quality training pitches, plus state-of-the-art gym, recovery and diagnostic testing facilities.
Knowledge will be shared between both organisations' sports science departments to support each other's strategic aims, while students will also have the opportunity to work with and observe the practices of Notts County's elite athletes and staff.
University of Nottingham students will have the opportunity to volunteer their services to the club while working towards achieving the Nottingham Advantage Award, the university's accredited extra-curricular scheme.
A mutually-beneficial educational offering will also be developed, where Notts County material can be applied to existing University of Nottingham modules and the club provides staff and players for presentations and guest lectures.
There will be the chance to harness the university's incredible AI and data resources to analyse the operational needs of community assets such as Notts County Foundation's Portland Centre - all with a view to identifying how both organisations can better serve the local community and meet the wider needs of the city of Nottingham.
What I am most excited to see is the vibrancy of the first team training in our world-leading facilities and the wealth of new student opportunities coming to life. This is another key reason why the University of Nottingham is so special and how we work to give our students truly life-changing opportunities."
Joe Palmer reflected: "The partnership will also see the two organisations come together in our efforts to make real, positive change in Nottingham, with a number of exciting projects already in the pipeline.
"This is only the beginning of what will be a continually-evolving partnership – one which we look forward to providing more details on in the months ahead."
