SOUTHEND United have been shortlisted for the prestigious Beyond Sport Awards.

The Shrimpers’ Goals Life Skills initiative is one of three worldwide nominees in the Best Project by a Professional Sports Team category.

The ground-breaking programme, launched in September 2007, teaches life skills to disaffected teenagers aged 14 to 18 from Southend schools.

Beyond Sport is a global initiative which seeks to unearth, celebrate and support the world’s most inspirational projects that drive positive change through sport.

Blues, who face competition from Hapoel Tel Aviv and Globalink Cycling Team, were shortlisted from 265 entries from more than 80 countries.

The club have been invited to attend the Beyond Sport Summit in London from July 7 to 9, which will be attended by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Prince Faisal Al Hussein Of Jordan, Sir Richard Branson and Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

The winners will be announced at the end of the summit.

“To be the only football club shortlisted in the country is amazing,” said Southend Community and Educational Trust chief executive Steve Goodsell.

“Little Southend has gone global. The project is a labour of love for all the people employed by the trust.”

Goodsell added the aim of the Goals Life Skills project is to use the universal appeal of football to build up the self-confidence of the students.

Groups of eight spend eight weeks at Roots Hall learning subjects as diverse as CV writing, sexual health and football coaching.

“It started life in quite a small way from a pilot programme that we ran,” Goodsell said.

“It has built up to the point where we employ people who came from the programme.”