NPTC Group of Colleges have extended their commercial agreement with the Ospreys where they will join an exclusive club and appear on the new Umbro Kit for the 21/22 season.
The Ospreys and NPTC Group have both established reputations for being the engine rooms for discovering and developing young talent, with both organisations sharing the same ethos and philosophy of giving young people an opportunity to achieve their goals.
The new High-Performance Centre at Llandarcy Academy of Sport is proof of the Ospreys shared commitment and history with the Neath Port Talbot Colleges Group to nurture homegrown talent. The region’s rugby operations - the first team and the academy - are now all based at the Ospreys new High-Performance Centre at one of the college’s campus at Llandarcy.
The Ospreys commitment to engaging with young people from across the region is underlined with the launch of new student season membership, with prices on sale from £30. The Ospreys and NPTC Group will work together to launch a new student activation zone at the first home game of the season vs Cardiff Rugby.
The extended partnership is recognition of the deep and historic relationship between NPTC Group and Ospreys Rugby which has grown and developed in recent seasons, with their logo first featuring on the match day jersey in 2013.
Toby Booth, Ospreys Head Coach, said:
“The new Ospreys High Performance Centre underlines ours and NPTC’s commitment to discover and develop homegrown talent from the region.”
“It was important that we had training facilities which matched our ambitions and that we had the resources we required to get better as soon as we could.”
The Ospreys and NPTC Group have been at the heart of the communities they represent and stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the fight against the Covid-19 Pandemic, when Llandarcy was turned into a field hospital for NHS Wales in 2019.
The NPTC Group is renowned across the UK for its proven track record in providing first class education and training for its students, helping them to move into employment.
NPTC Group covers one third of the landmass of Wales with its nine college campuses, including Brecon Beacons College and Newtown College, and delivers a diverse range of internationally recognised qualifications from A Levels to vocational and degree courses.
School leavers voted the NPTC Group as the number one training provider in Wales and in the top ten in the UK at the ‘School Leaver Awards in 2020’.
Mark Dacey, NPTC Group Chief Executive, said:
“We are delighted to be working once again in partnership with the Ospreys and be able to offer and share first class facilities at our Llandarcy Academy of Sport. Community is so important to both organisations and hopefully together we can help inspire and build on the great work we have already achieved.”
Nick Garcia, Ospreys Chief Executive, said:
“We already have a successful, long-term relationship with NPTC Group and this new partnership is a welcome extension of that. It is a true collaboration between two ambitious and forward-thinking organisations that share a common ethos and desire to be at the heart of the local community.
“We both know how important young people are to the future both on and off the field. They are future Ospreys players and future Osprey supporters. Continuing to work together with NPTC, we can both thrive in our particular sectors and build an exciting future.”