Whilst all the building works were being carried out at Loftus Road over the summer, QPR's Football In The Community team sent two of their senior members of staff out to South Africa for the Coaching For Hope programme.

We are very proud to be one of the founding partners of Coaching For Hope, which aims to use football and art to empower young people in developing countries and educate them about key issues affecting their lives, including HIV / Aids.

QPR in the Community's Dave Robinson and Steve Quashie ventured out to Cape Town, and along with their colleagues from Hull City, spent time in the Western Cape, educating local coaches on vital life skills using Football as a tool to deliver cross-over football sessions based upon HIV / Aids and substance.

The local coaches will now take their new-found football knowledge, coupled with their understanding of issues surrounding HIV/Aids, and share that knowledge with their local communities in the townships.

Robinson told www.qpr.co.uk: "I am very pleased with the way this programme has evolved.

"All the coaches applied themselves very well and we are hopeful they will go out and deliver what we have taught them from the manuals we provided."

Robinson added: "The situation in South Africa is very worrying. There is mass poverty and then extreme wealth just around the corner.

"There is also a real lack of structure and direction, which is something I identified with regards to their coaching sessions. By the end of the course there were dramatic improvements, which was of course very pleasing to see."

As a Club, Queens Park Rangers recognises that we have a role to play in educating young people across many themes, including health, not just here in the UK, but internationally as well.

For more information on Coaching For Hope, please visit www.coachingforhope.org