Are you Match Fit? Register now for our FREE pre-season briefings!
Oxford United in the Community, the Official Charity of Oxford United Football Club, is delighted to be launching the Match Fit project for 2025/26, supported by the Premier League Fans Fund – and there is just one week to go to register to take part in pre-season!
The FREE programme offers adults, whether existing fans of the Club or local residents, the opportunity to take steps towards improving their own performance through sharing of Club expertise at a series of pre-season briefings where they can hear insights from within the elite game and the Oxford United Men’s and Women’s First Teams as well as from local partner organisations.
It will allow fans to see behind the scenes at the Oxford United Training Ground and understand how approaches to small improvements in the elite game in how we think, eat and move can fit into our daily lives.
Register now for Oxford United in the Community’s first FREE pre-season briefing ‘Think Well’.
Hosted at the Oxford United Training Ground, and delivered in partnership with Cognacity, this briefing will feature insights from Dr Phil Hopley, a Consultant Psychiatrist who works with high profile individuals from the business, sport and entertainment sectors.
He will share insights into how small changes in our thinking can improve resilience and enable us to cope with the frequent challenges of life.
Dr Phil has been the Mental Fitness Coach for the McLaren F1 Race Team over the last 4 years, contributing to their rise from midfielders to World Champions.
Register for the briefings HERE.
The 3 pre-season briefings will be:
Briefing 1: Think Well
Monday 21st July 6.00-7.30pm
The Pavilion, Oxford United Training Ground
In partnership with Cognacity and featuring Dr Phil Hopley, a Consultant Psychiatrist who works with high profile individuals from the business, sport and entertainment sectors. Dr Phil has been the Mental Fitness Coach for the McLaren F1 Race Team over the last 4 years, contributing to their rise from midfielders to World Champions. He will share insights into how small changes in our thinking can improve resilience and enable us to cope with the frequent challenges of life.
Briefing 2: Fuel Well
Monday 4th August 6.00-7.30pm
The Pavilion, Oxford United Training Ground
In partnership with Beezee by Maximus, the free nutrition support service funded by Oxfordshire County Council and featuring Oxford United Lead Performance Chef Jody Palmer, who has worked for the England Women’s Senior Team and Wales National Team as well as various football clubs prior to Oxford United. This briefing will explore how small changes in what we eat and drink can lead to big results in both elite performance and day-to-day life.
Briefing 3: Move Well
Monday 18th August 6.00-7.30pm
The Pavilion, Oxford United Training Ground
In partnership with Active Oxfordshire, and featuring Oxford United Lead First Team Physical Performance Coach Dwayne Peasah. This briefing will explore how overall fitness can be built up in an elite pre-season and how we can all make small changes in our day-to-day lives to get more physically active.
Underpinned by local partners Oxfordshire County Council, Active Oxfordshire and Beezee by Maximus, the project is open to all adults aged over 18 as at 1st July 2025, whether fans of the Club or a resident of Oxfordshire.
Each briefing will last 90 minutes. Fans will hear from panels including Oxford United staff, sharing how the Club’s players make small incremental changes to improve their performance, and how this can be applied to their own aspirations to improve their Health and Wellbeing
They will offer the chance to ask your own questions and learn more about what local provision is available to support us to make small changes in our daily lives to get ourselves ‘Match Fit’.
At the conclusion of each session there is an optional tour of the main training ground building where Oxford United Men, Women and Academy train.
Spaces are strictly limited to 60 fans per briefing on a first come, first served basis.
Whether you would like to improve your own Health and Wellbeing, support a family member, or just learn more about the subjects within an elite environment you can sign up for FREE access to any of the briefings by registering HERE, and setting up your free account with Oxford United in the Community.