29th June 2023
An ex-Oldham College learner was given the honour of presenting the Premier League 2022/23 trophy to Manchester City’s captain last month.
Tom O’Dell, 19, was selected to join ex-City goalkeeper Alex Williams – who is retiring after 33 years with the club charity City in the Community (CITC) – to hand the coveted silverware over to captain İlkay Gündoğan, at the Etihad on May 21.
Tom said: “The day consisted of tickets to the platinum box, meeting with the heads of the Premier League, and of course walking the trophy out alongside Alex Williams MBE.
“It was a surreal moment, especially with 55,000 people watching the legacy video and the walkout.
“I was delighted to have been chosen. It was definitely a core moment to savour, and something I will be grateful of for a long time.”
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Tom’s journey has been inspirational: starting in secondary school on CITC’s Pathways programme, he then enrolled on the City in the Community BTEC Level 3 Extended National Diploma in Sport at Oldham College.
After receiving a fully-funded scholarship to Manchester Metropolitan University, nominated by his tutors at Oldham College and CITC, he is now on the BSc (Hons) Manchester City Community Football Coaching course and is a valued member of staff at the charity.
“The BTEC programme is an amazing opportunity and experience,” says Tom. “I have found a real passion for coaching. The BTEC has fed this passion, and helped me to better myself in every aspect.”
Tom’s tutor, John Edwards, said: “Tom has been a fantastic student – he has a huge amount of natural ability and gave every aspect of College life his all, constantly striving for higher grades. Tom is a credit to himself, his family and to Oldham College.”
