A NEW partnership sealed by a Bury army training academy is in a league of its own.

Evolve Military College, which works with 16 to 24 years old ahead of potential services enrolment, has confirmed it will be teaming up with Burnley FC in the Community in 2020.

Work is also progressing for the outfit, which is based in the Bury Sea Cadets building in Marsden Street, to open up a third Lancashire base in the near future.

The link-up with the Clarets follows on from the creation of Evolve’s second site,in Athletic Street, Burnley, as reported by the Bury Times in October.

Eleven new jobs were created as a result of the move, after the college secured a £95,000 loan through the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund and GC Business Finance, the regional growth organisation.

An announcement on their website about the football connection reads: “We’re proud to officially announce today our partnership with Premiership Burnley Football Club and their charity arm Burnley FC in the Community. Bright futures ahead for the young people of Burnley.”

The community trust has recently been on an upwards trajectory, moving into a new home at the former Brierfield Mills, now known as Leisure Box.

Just last month Evolve,. which now can deal with 120 recruits at a time, also walked away with the Backing Young Bury prize at the Made In Bury business awards. The college has also confirmed it is looking to establish a foothold in Preston, at a currently undisclosed location, this January.

Andrew Emmett, the college’s managing director, has previously outlined their rationale.

He said: “In helping these aspiring armed services personnel understand the daily life of the military, in addition to training their body and minds, we’re helping smooth the transition into service life as much as possible.”