The FA Young Leadership Camp got underway earlier this week at Nottingham Trent University. One hundred 16-17-year-olds were invited along to experience a week of workshops, focusing on a variety of football topics.

From dealing with pitch injuries to futsal, a range of football disciplines will be covered by FA staff.

After a successful stint at a regional event in Nantwich, Max Perry was selected to attend the Young Leadership Camp and is eager to learn as much as possible.

"I've already completed my Level One Coaching badge and am in the middle of doing my Level Two," Max told TheFA.com. "I do a bit of coaching for the younger age groups at my club, Castletown, so I'm keen to pick up as many pointers as I can this week.

"I want to keep playing for as long as possible, but once I stop, I want to stay within football and hopefully carve out a career for myself in coaching."

The 17-year-old from the Isle of Man believes the Young Leadership Camp is a great way to develop his knowledge of the game and would love to be one of the four Young Leaders selected to go to Cape Town in October to help support and run coaching sessions for children in Africa.

"I hope I can use my experiences from this week and help the children out there. It would be a massive opportunity for me and I would be able to take that experience back to my own club and help the community."

Max's long-term aim is to one day manage a team in the Premier League and as an Aston Villa fan, he takes his inspiration from Villa manager Martin O'Neill.

Coaching is obviously high on Max's agenda, but he is using this week as an opportunity to learn about every aspect of the game.

"The futsal workshop was my first taste of the game and I really enjoyed it. It's similar to five-a-side, but you can't use the sideboards and it's a lot quicker than five-a-side and requires more skill.

"As an ex-goalkeeper, I'm also looking forward to the goalkeeping sessions, but I'm trying to take in as much as I can about everything to help my development in football."

As well as increasing the participants’ knowledge of the game, the Young Leadership Camp has also heightened Max's belief that football is an effective tool for social cohesion.

"I've really enjoyed meeting different people from all around the country and talking to them about their experiences in football. This Camp demonstrates that football is a great way to bring people together and we're learning all the time.

"I'd recommend it to anyone my age because it's great fun; you get to meet new people and it's a good way to learn new skills."

Max plans to study a sports-related course at university and would like to visit America to get involved in a scholarship scheme to broaden his coaching knowledge.

Attending this year's Leadership Camp has laid the foundations for what he hopes will be a life-long involvement in the game.

"I'd love to coach in the Premier League, but I know that'll be really hard to break into. I'll continue to coach clubs in my local community until I get a break - as long as I'm involved in football, I'll be happy."