North West agency ICG is celebrating 20 years of its partnership with League Football Education.
Preston based League Football Education (LFE) is a charity that delivers the Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence programme to the majority of English Football League clubs.
ICG has helped shape how LFE communicates and connects with thousands of young apprentice footballers, their families, clubs and education providers across the country including many familiar names.
Jude Bellingham was an LFE apprentice at Birmingham City and named LFE’s Championship Apprentice of the Year for 2019–20 while nine LFE Academy graduates feature in England’s 2026 World Cup squad, including Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa, Jordan Henderson and John Stones.
Back in 2006, ICG‘s first job was to give LFE an identity of its own.
The original pentagon-shaped logo took inspiration from the pattern stitched into a football – a simple idea that has remained at the heart of the brand ever since, and one that has been recognised in creative design circles, featuring in Taschen’s Brand Identity Now series.
ICG has produced a vast range of materials including welcome packs, learning resources, player care guides, club performance reports and Touchline, LFE’s flagship magazine for apprentices.
A brand has to keep pace with the audience it serves, and few audiences change as fast as teenagers, aged 16 to 18.
Regular in-depth research and audits have helped understand how apprentices consume information, and the brand and its materials have evolved alongside every shift in technology.
ICG has also supported the Erasmus+ programme of European trips, Assessment Trials and the Study Programme as well as contributing to EFL initiatives such as Kick It Out, and an initiative called Create Your Legacy, a career progression event held in partnership with Dame Kelly Holmes.
Simon Couchman, managing director and creative director at ICG, said: “Looking back over the last two decades is an opportunity to celebrate the work that we have created with LFE and the partnership that continues today.
“What makes this partnership genuinely rewarding is seeing where LFE’s apprentices end up – especially during the World Cup
“From the first pentagon logo in 2006 to today’s digital-first identity, the thread running through this partnership has always been the same: understanding LFE’s audience and building creative that serves them, whatever the platform.
“Twenty years on, we’re proud to still be LFE’s marketing partner, and we’re looking forward to many more years of collaboration and success.”
Elaine Brand, LFE assistant projects manager, said: “ICG has become far more than a design agency to us – they are trusted partners who understand our organisation, our audiences and the importance of helping us communicate our work clearly and professionally.
“ICG has played an important role in helping LFE’s visual identity evolve while staying true to who we are and what we stand for.
“I am grateful for the relationship we have built and value their continued support. We look forward to continuing this successful partnership for many years to come.”
