Ipswich Town Football Club has joined the drive to get more youngsters active, becoming the £80,000 Active Schools project's first ambassador.

Launched in July last year by Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils, in partnership with NHS West Suffolk and NHS Ipswich and East Suffolk clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and supported by Active Suffolk; the three-year Active Schools project aims to increase the number of people taking part in sport and physical activity.

Funded by an £80,000 investment – with £25,000 from each of the district councils and £15,000 from the two CCGs respectively, Active Schools will engage with 20 schools across Babergh and Mid Suffolk, with Active Suffolk already working closely with 15.

Ipswich Town Football Club supports and advocates the project's key aspiration to enable young people in Babergh, including the Shotley Peninsula, to lead an active lifestyle. Through their Community Trust,Town will provide access to initiatives that include sport, education, community engagement and health, working with Active Suffolk and partners to maximise the number of opportunities for young people to be physically active.

For the Babergh an average of 28.9% of Year 6 pupils are overweight, including 15.6% who are classified as obese. The project aims to address this problem through targeted support for schools, helping children live longer, happier and healthier lives, as well as reducing future healthcare costs and improving quality of life.

Cllr Derek Davis, cabinet member for communities at Babergh District Council, said: "Babergh is delighted to welcome Ipswich Town's support. This work with Active Schools to promote healthier habits and physical activity is an exciting and challenging initiative and it's important we take crucial steps to promote healthy and happy communities for generations to come - the very same reason we're investing more than £4m to modernise and extend our leisure facilities in Hadleigh and Sudbury."