IN THIS ISSUE:
• Sport in Telford gets Royal seal of approval
• Sir Clive Woodward opens Brighton RFC's
new artificial pitch
• Spurs stars launch £600,000 first ever
Flagship Space for Sport
• Gerrard and Carragher unveil second
£600,000 Flagship Space for Sport in Liverpool
• South Africa to get its own Football Foundation
• Chancellor kicks off tour of Football
Foundation-funded projects
• Sir Trevor opens £1.6 million Shephalbury Park
to kickstart football in Stevenage
• Kids Play Safe thanks to Brenda's campaign
and determination
FOUNDATION’S
FREE KIT
SCHEME IN
SAFE HANDS
WITH
ENGLAND’S
NUMBER ONE
1
Tottenham Hotspur and England goalkeeper
Paul Robinson has teamed up with the Football
Foundation to launch its revamped Junior
Kit Scheme.
Kit and equipment vouchers, now worth up to
£400, are available to under 18 teams and adults
with disabilities and items available include shirts,
shorts, socks, training bibs, balls, flags and kit bags
– everything a young footballer needs to play the
game and absolutely free of charge. A new female
range is also now available to encourage girls to get
involved in the game.
All junior teams from clubs and schools are eligible
to apply for their new kit and can download the
form at www.footballfoundation.org.uk.
ONSIDE | The Football Foundation Newsletter | Issue 15
The England star welcomed this latest boost for
grass roots football:
“I know how important it is for young players to
run out onto the pitch wearing the right kit, it
helps make you feel more prepared for the game.
On behalf of the Football Foundation, I wish all
young players the very best of luck in 2006 and
would encourage teams to log on to the
Foundation’s website and apply for a voucher
– it’s too good an opportunity to miss out on.”
The Foundation will spend £750,000 every year
on the Nike-supplied kit scheme, providing up
to 1,875 teams with the best possible start in
the game.
LUTHER BLISSETT HELPS CELEBRATE
NEW DAWN FOR HARLESDEN'S
STONEBRIDGE REC GROUND
The Hillside Housing Trust held a football
tournament to mark the start of work on its new
Stonebridge Recreation Ground pavilion and
facilities project. Celebrity guest Luther Blissett,
the former England international, Watford and
AC Milan footballer now a football pundit,
kick-started the event.
Tanya Hamilton, Chair of Stonebridge Youth Forum
gave the welcoming speech at this exciting event.
Dawn Butler, Brent South's new MP and Councillor
Colum Moloney, Mayor of Brent were the guests
of honour.
The building and land development will consist of:
• a new pavilion housing a reception area, office,
changing rooms, café, multi-purpose hall, training
rooms and viewing terrace
• state-of-the-art artificial sports pitches with new
floodlighting and fencing
• a refurbished grass pitch
Work is now underway and the pavilion and
artificial sports areas will be completed by autumn
LORD PENDRY PITCHES
UP TO THE OPENING OF
BURGESS PARK’S £1.8
MILLION NEW SPORTS
COMPLEX
Footballers at Burgess Park are now enjoying
brand new pitches and changing facilities after it
was opened by Football Foundation President
Lord Pendry.
SPORT IN
TELFORD
GETS ROYAL
SEAL OF
APPROVAL
2006. The grass pitch will be ready by spring 2007.
The project has attracted more than £2 million of
external funding and engages a number of
stakeholders - Stonebridge Housing Action Trust, Big
Lottery Fund, London Marathon Charitable Trust
and the European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF). The Football Foundation made up the
lion's share by awarding a grant of £1 million.
HRH The Princess Royal joined students and
staff at Telford College of Arts and Technology
to unveil a new generation of football facilities
for Shropshire.
Peter Lee, Chief Executive of the Football
Foundation, welcomed this latest boost for grass
roots football in Brent: “This fantastic new
development is testament to everyone concerned
with this project, the County FA, local partners
and the Football Foundation staff, but especially
the people in the Brent community who
thoroughly deserve the new pavilion and pitches.”
The outstanding new facilities have provided a
covered artificial turf pitch, similar to those
recently constructed at Real Madrid and
Arsenal FC, to provide first class playing and
training opportunities for both football
and rugby.
Principal Development Manager for Hillside,
Nigel Swanton said: “We are delighted that the
young people of Stonebridge will have an exciting
and vibrant centre where they can realise their
full potential in sport and associated project
based activities.”
The Foundation awarded a grant offer of £925,000
back in March 2004 towards the construction of a
new changing pavilion and artificial turf pitch at
Burgess Park.
The Princess formally opened the college's
new Super Dome, funded in part by a
£382,724 grant from the Football Foundation.
In addition to offering the college's students
with increased sporting opportunities, the
Super Dome will also be used to provide
football coaching and five-a-side facilities to
players of all ages and abilities from the
Telford area.
address social problems in what is one of the most
deprived areas in England.
The new pitches and changing rooms will be a
massive boost to the 181,000 people that live
within a couple of miles of Burgess Park. It will be
of particular benefit to the area’s many youngsters
– 32% of the wards population are 19 or under,
compared with a national average of 25%. The
facility is also an important step in helping to
ONSIDE | The Football Foundation Newsletter | Issue 15
2
SIR CLIVE
WOODWARD
OPENS
BRIGHTON
RFC'S NEW
ARTIFICIAL
PITCH
The opening ceremony was followed by a
display of youth rugby and football before the
first team game between Brighton and
Tonbridge Juddians on the club's main pitch.
The coach who masterminded England's Rugby
World Cup triumph, Sir Clive Woodward,
launched a new artificial turf pitch which will
cater for both football and rugby.
Both sports also joined forces to fund the
£557,000 facility, the first of its kind in the
country, which is set to revitalise community
sport on the south coast. The Rugby Football
Union (RFU), through its Community Club
Development Programme and the Football
Foundation, shared the costs of the project to
support sports development in the region.
So no-one could be more appropriate to bridge
the divide between the games than Woodward,
the coach who won the Rugby World Cup with
England in 2003 before moving on to become
Director of Football at Southampton FC.
The third-generation rubber crumb pitch at
Waterhall Fields will lead the development of
both codes in the city, with opportunities for
more than 20,000 players to use the facility
each year.
The floodlit 120 x 70 metre surface is the first
of its kind specially designed to meet the needs
of the two sports.
3
The RFU's Community Rugby and Operations
Director Terry Burwell said: “Brighton RFC is
key to the local and regional development of
rugby union and we are committed to making
sure that the club can provide increased
opportunities for all those who wish to
participate in rugby.
and the Government - through the Department
for Culture, Media and Sport to improve sports
facilities around the country.
SPORTS MINISTER OPENS
NEW £500K CHANGING
FACILITIES AND PITCHES IN
EAST YORKSHIRE
We're delighted to be able to work with the
Football Foundation to provide an excellent
facility for both sports and to forge strong
partnerships with the Sussex RFU, the Sussex
FA, clubs and local schools.”
Peter Lee, Chief Executive of the Football
Foundation, welcomed the project:
“This outstanding project demonstrates just
what can be achieved when sporting bodies
work together for the benefit of communities.
The new pitch is set to revitalise sport in the
region and we look forward to developing this
new partnership with the RFU.”
Brighton RFC President Steve Russell said: “Our
new artificial training pitch will bring rugby and
football to all ages and abilities. Brighton RFC
is already a centre of excellence for the whole
community and ultimately we want to bring
Premiership rugby to Brighton by bringing on
young new players.”
The RFU's funding has come from the
Community Club Development Programme - a
joint initiative between the Union, Sport England
ONSIDE | The Football Foundation Newsletter | Issue 15
Rt Hon Richard Caborn MP, the Minister for
Sport, dropped in to Beverley Leisure Centre
in East Riding to help launch their new
changing facilities and junior pitches.
The brand new developments were funded
with the help of a £400,000 Football
Foundation grant. In addition to football, the
site will cater for a host of other sports that
Beverley's teams play, like rugby and cricket.
In addition to this project, East Riding of
Yorkshire Council has embarked on a
comprehensive redevelopment of its leisure
facilities in Beverley, with a major investment
into the existing leisure centre site, which has
also delivered a new swimming pool and
improved outdoor recreation facilities.
BBC SPORTS
BROADCASTER
OPENS
UNIVERSITY'S
SPORTS
GROUND
One of the country's foremost sports presenters
formally opened the University of Southampton's
revamped sports facilities at Wide Lane in
Eastleigh. Broadcaster John Inverdale, a graduate
of the university, unveiled a plaque in the new
sports pavilion with Vice-Chancellor Professor
Bill Wakeham.
The £4.3 million, 76-acre development incorporates
grass pitches for football, cricket, lacrosse, rugby,
American football and baseball. There are also two
floodlit synthetic turf pitches and a new pavilion with
24 changing rooms, a bar and meeting rooms. The
outdoor facilities complement the University's
Jubilee Sports Centre at the Highfield campus, which
opened in 2004 and provides a state-of-the-art
fitness suite, sports hall and swimming pool.
The new facilities have been developed in
partnership with Eastleigh Borough Council and the
Football Foundation. Under the terms of the
partnership with Eastleigh Borough Council, the
local community will also be able to use this
modern, high-quality sports complex.
Laurence Barber, Head of the University's Sport
and Recreation Service comments: “The opening of
these new outdoor facilities at Wide Lane means
that Southampton's sports facilities are amongst
the best of any university in the country. This is
an exciting time for university sport and these
first-class facilities will increase opportunities for
our students and staff as well as local people to
take part in a wide range of sporting activities.”
Councillor Alan Broadhurst, Cabinet Member for
Leisure at Eastleigh Borough Council, added: “This
fantastic new sports complex helps meet the need
for more high-quality playing pitches in Eastleigh,
as identified in the Council's Sport and Recreation
Strategy. The Council is investing £1 million in this
project and we are delighted to be working with
the university to ensure first-class sport for
our community.”
Peter Lee, Chief Executive of the Football
Foundation, welcomed the boost for sport in the
region: “This outstanding scheme is a great
example of the type of work the Foundation is
undertaking throughout the region and will go a
long way to ensuring that Southampton students
and local residents will have access to modern
sports facilities.”
SHADOW SPORTS
MINISTER HELPS
BEARSTED FC
CELEBRATE £6K
WINDFALL
The Shadow Sports and Olympics Minister
Hugh Robertson MP braved the elements on a
snowy afternoon in Kent to help celebrate
Bearsted Football Club's £6,000 award by the
Football Foundation.
The cash bonanza will be spread over two
years to assist Bearsted FC towards club
development. It will help the club fund training
courses, referee hire, facility hire and provide
first aid kits.
Hugh Robertson, Bearsted's local MP,
congratulated the club on their initiative: “This
is great news for the club and the community.
I'm delighted Bearsted have been successful in
securing this funding from the Football
Foundation and they deserve credit for all
their efforts.”
ONSIDE | The Football Foundation Newsletter | Issue 15
4
SPURS
STARS
LAUNCH
£600,000
FIRST
EVER
FLAGSHIP
SPACE FOR
SPORT...
Spurs star players Michael Carrick and Michael
Brown joined their manager Martin Jol to help
launch the first Barclays Spaces for Sports ‘flagship’
site at White Hart Lane Community Sports Centre
in Tottenham.
The centre has been transformed and now boasts a
completely refurbished 11-a-side artificial turf pitch,
four resurfaced tennis courts and new floodlights,
thanks to a joint £600,000 cash injection from
Barclays and the Football Foundation.
Local children from Broadwater Farm Primary
School joined Jol, Carrick and Brown to take part in
football, hockey and tennis coaching sessions to
mark the opening of the site.
Funding from the Barclays Spaces for Sports
programme has completely redeveloped the
community sports centre, which is owned and run
by Haringey Council.The site, formerly known as
the New River Sports and Recreation Centre, was
previously in a dilapidated condition with several
derelict areas and rundown facilities.
Part of a £30 million investment from the Barclays
Spaces for Sports initiative, which creates sustainable
sports facilities across the UK, the project will
receive a further £45,000 from Barclays to ensure
the sustainability of the site plus kit and equipment
worth £5,000.
5
Located just two miles from Tottenham Hotspur’s
stadium, the centre will provide much needed
sports facilities for the surrounding wards of
Woodside and White Hart Lane. A range of
activities such as football, rugby, tennis, hockey and
coaching courses will now be offered to all
members of the community, including local schools.
Barclays Group Chairman, Matt Barrett,
commented: “Barclays believes that sport has a
key role to play in revitalising our communities
and sites like the White Hart Lane Sports Centre
are central to this. The completion of this site will
provide local people with the opportunity to
participate in and enjoy sport.”
Football Foundation Chairman Dave Richards
added his support, saying: “It is essential for the
future of sport and the health of our nation that
all communities have access to the kind of
modern grass roots facilities that will be on
display at the White Hart Sports Centre. This
outstanding new development will offer a host of
new sporting opportunities for communities in
and around the Tottenham area, regardless of age,
ability or gender.”
Kathryn Robinson, Director of Tottenham Hotspur
Community Development commented: “Last year
we provided opportunities for 305,000 local
children of all levels and abilities and this is exactly
the type of facility we need to provide the high
quality of coaching for which we are recognised
and to coach even more children in the future.
We know how sport can be a catalyst for a
successful, healthy life and it is with facilities such
as this that we can give local residents the chance
to enjoy sport to the full. Tottenham Hotspur is
delighted to be able to launch this facility with
Barclays and the Football Foundation and we look
forward to putting it to good use.”
Councillor Charles Adje, Leader of Haringey
Council, said: “This is a fantastic boost for
Haringey. It will help engage local people in a
diverse range of activities and introduce them to
new sports.We look forward to working with our
community partners to ensure the continued
growth of the site. I would like to thank and
congratulate Tottenham Hotspur, Barclays and the
Football Foundation for making this happen.”
Barclays Spaces for Sports, a partnership between
Barclays, the Football Foundation and Groundwork,
will create sports sites for local communities over
the next three years and provides kit and
equipment for sport groups across the UK.
ONSIDE | The Football Foundation Newsletter | Issue 15
...AND
GERRARD AND
CARRAGHER
UNVEIL
SECOND
£600,000
FLAGSHIP
SPACE FOR
SPORT IN
LIVERPOOL
A week later in the North West saw the launch of
the second Flagship Spaces for Sport site when
Liverpool FC stars Steven Gerrard and Jamie
Carragher visited the Anfield Sport and Community
Centre (ASCC) in Anfield as the new facility was
officially opened for business.
Following a £600,000 cash injection from Barclays
and the Football Foundation, the centre now boasts
a new roof and playing surface for the sports hall, a
fitness room, and two activity rooms.
The Liverpool stars were joined by local children
from Anfield Junior and St Margaret’s Primary
Schools who took part in coaching sessions in
football, hockey and netball to mark the opening of
the site for public use.
The funding has completely redeveloped the
community sports centre. The site was formerly
known as the Anfield Youth Centre and had become
more and more rundown, so the investment and
redevelopment was just the tonic the area needed.
BARCLAYS
SPACES FOR
SPORT
COACHING KIT
Activities offered to all members of the community
will include football, netball, badminton and volleyball
and it is anticipated that over 80,000 people
annually will benefit from the improved facilities
– doubling the number of previous users.
Rick Parry, Liverpool FC’s Chief Executive,
welcomed the Barclays Spaces for Sports
contribution to the improvements at ASCC. He
noted: “Liverpool FC has worked in partnership
with the City Council and the local community for
over four years and will continue to deliver
coaching in the community at the ASCC site.”
Steven Gerrard commented: “Having played in the
local Edgehill Junior League I am very pleased that
Barclays Spaces for Sports is supporting the
ASCC. I started my playing career around the
corner in Britannic Park, so I’d love to see this
area become a breeding ground for the next
generation of Liverpool players. Both Jamie
Carragher and myself have very fond memories of
being coached by Steve Heighway in the nearby
Vernon Sangster Centre.”
A Barclays Spaces for Sport Coaching Kit will be
used by the volunteers of the Braintree
Community Sports Project to help in their role as
sports coaches and leaders in the community.
The kit will allow them to look and feel like top
coaches whilst conducting the sports sessions,
which inevitably has a knock-on effect to the
young people they are training.
As well as this, the young people will receive
t-shirts. These will be used on an incentive basis
as prizes for specific one off events such as
anti-racism days and symbols of achieving certain
levels of attendance.
ONSIDE | The Football Foundation Newsletter | Issue 15
6
SOUTH
AFRICA
TO GET ITS
OWN
FOOTBALL
FOUNDATION
The Minister for Sport Richard Caborn was joined
by our Chairman Dave Richards and leading
industrialist and businessman Tokyo Sexwale for the
announcement of the formation and launch of the
South African Football Foundation (SAFF). The
event, organised by the Football Foundation, marked
the groundbreaking development with the objective
of improving the grass roots infrastructure of
football in South Africa in the lead up to the World
Cup in 2010.
Messages of support
were received from
the Prime Minister
Tony Blair and
former South
African President
Nelson Mandela.
The Prime Minister
Tony Blair said: “It is
great to see that the model of our own Football
Foundation, bringing together funding partners
from football and government, is going to be
replicated in South Africa. With the country
hosting the World Cup Finals in 2010, these are
exciting times for South Africa and this provides a
real opportunity to create a vehicle that can
harness the power of the world's favourite game
and give the country a sporting legacy they can be
proud of.”
Football Association Development Trust over the
formation of the South African Football
Foundation. This initiative is critical in the light of
our hosting the 2010 Football World Cup. I want
to express our appreciation and support for this
very important development.”
The SAFF will be based on the model of the UK's
Football Foundation, launched in 2000 by the Prime
Minister Tony Blair with a mission to improve
facilities, create opportunities and build
communities. A registered charity, it will be funded
by a combination of governmental, football industry
and private investment.
The initiative, which is drawing on the expertise
and support of the Football Foundation and the
British Government, is one of several that are
due to be announced over the next few months
aimed at building up the grass roots of football in
South Africa.
Richard Caborn stated: “It's a real pleasure to be
able to host the launch of the South African
Football Foundation, which will invest money into
grass roots football, much in the same way the
Football Foundation has done here with such
success. The Football Foundation has shown it can
deliver a massive boost to grass roots
participation and I'm sure the South African
Football Foundation will do
exactly the same.”
Former President
Mandela added: “We
are very pleased to
hear about the
cooperation
between the British
Government and
the South African
7
ONSIDE | The Football Foundation Newsletter | Issue 15
Speaking at the event,
Charlton Athletic and South
African international Shaun
Bartlett said: “It is fantastic
news for the grass roots of
the game in South Africa.
Football can achieve so
much for society that more traditional methods
struggle with, it can really build many bridges and
help communities on all manner of fronts from
healthy living, to education, to reducing crime and
drug use. With the World Cup Finals coming to
South Africa in just under five years this is yet
another great piece of news for the country.”
Stofile Makhenkesi, Minister of Sport and Recreation
stated: “The formation of the SAFF will
substantially contribute towards the development
of all our young football players in South Africa.
Not only will it provide much needed funds for
development, but also underpins the support of
South Africa as the host country for the 2010
FIFA World Cup.”
The announcement followed a series of meetings
and discussions with the Chairman of the English
Premiership and Football Foundation Dave
Richards and the Minister for Sport Richard
Caborn around ways of ensuring a holistic solution
to the development challenges facing South
African football.
Dave Richards welcomed the announcement: “It is
truly rewarding to see that all the hard work and
commitment that has been put into making our
own Football Foundation the success that it is, has
been recognised and is now to be replicated in
South Africa. The potential for the game and the
benefits it can bring to communities are enormous
and I look forward to developing a long and
productive relationship with the South African
Football Foundation.”
CHANCELLOR KICKS OFF
TOUR OF FOOTBALL
FOUNDATION-FUNDED
PROJECTS
Chancellor Gordon Brown welcomed some
notable dignitaries from the world of South
African football at the start of a tour of some
major projects the Foundation helped fund.
The tour was designed to give the visitors an
idea of how successful Foundation projects
have been in England and what similar schemes
could do for communities across South Africa.
Amongst the delegation were Tokyo Sexwale,
Chairman, South African Football Foundation,
Trevor Phillips, Chief Executive Officer of the
Premier Soccer League in South Africa, Kaizer
Motaung, Chairman of the Kaizer Chiefs FC.
The tour began with a visit to Mile End
Stadium to see the 'Football At Mile End'
(FAME) Project, which works with the West
Ham Asians in Football Project.
The Foundation approved a grant offer of
£800,000 against a total project cost of
£2,537,634 for changing facilities and seven
small sided third generation Synthetic Turf
Pitches at Mile End Stadium. The Foundation
also approved a grant of nearly £200,000
towards a Schools and Education
Development Officer and programme.
Over 100 children from four local primary
schools - Halley School, Ben Jonson School,
Clara Grant School and Marner School demonstrated the use local youngsters were
making of the new facilities for the visitors.
Brazilian-style coaching was being practiced on
the artificial turf pitches, which comprised ABC
(agility, balance and co-ordination) circuits
combined with SAQ (speed, agility and
quickness) work. It also covered goalkeeping
with some specially-designed small-sided
games. Running with the ball combined with
shooting to demonstrate ball control and
finishing training.
The guests then witnessed fitness and
movement demonstrations on the athletics
track with some aerobic and anaerobic work
on display, as well as a four against-four match
on the grass pitch.
Afterwards they visited Long Lane Junior
Football Club, where the South London
Special League took part in an organised
tournament, before finally having lunch at the
London Playing Fields Foundation pavilion.
Kick-starting Britain's
Lapsed Readers
Do you know any of the millions of people in
the UK who don't read? They either don't
have the skills or simply don't have the time.
That is why Quick Reads - short, fast-paced,
punchy books, written by bestselling authors have been published. They are designed
especially to encourage Britain's lapsed readers
to lose themselves in the world of words
once more. One of the 12 books published is
The Team by Mick Denis.The book paints a
fascinating portrait of the beautiful game from
the perspective of 11 footballing people, from
players to referees.
As an extra incentive, book tokens offering £1
off each Quick Read title are being made
available, throughout Britain, via national and
local organisations. For more information on
Quick Reads visit www.quickreads.org.uk.
Quick Reads is one of a number of schemes
which uses football to boost Britain's literacy
skills. Premier League Reading Stars, for
example, encourages kids and adults to read by
using top level players to recommend their
favourite titles.
ONSIDE | The Football Foundation Newsletter | Issue 15
8
SIR TREVOR
OPENS £1.6
MILLION
SHEPHALBURY
PARK TO
KICKSTART
FOOTBALL IN
STEVENAGE
LINCOLN CITY
GETS
COMMUNITY
INTO 'HEALTHY
HABITS'
Lincoln City Football in the Community (FiTC) is
ready to start encouraging healthier activity after
they got the green light for funding a new 'Healthy
Habits' scheme.
The Foundation has offered a grant of £185,579
over three years to assist Lincoln City FC FiTC in
funding the project.
The initiative was formally launched just before
Christmas at Lincoln's home game against
Chester City.
GREAT BENTLEY YOUTH
FC ON THE BALL WITH
FOUNDATION SUPPORT
Coaching in the future which is a great programme
and concentrates on ball skills and touch.
Sir Trevor Brooking was on hand at the official
opening of a new sports complex for North
Hertfordshire College, incorporating floodlights,
pitch improvements and new changing
accommodation, funded with a £850,000 grant from
the Foundation.
The money will also go towards first aid courses
for our coaches and help us organise a football
festival for local schools in the area” said Graham.
Great Bentley Youth have over 50 children on
their books and hope to enter U7, U8 and U9
sides into the Colchester & District Youth League
for next season.
The new facility includes floodlit all-weather pitches,
a strengthened grass pitch, as well as the brand new
pavilion at the Shephalbury site in Stevenage.
Sir Trevor was given a tour of the new facilities
before heading back to the Broadhall Suite at
Stevenage Borough FC’s ground for a steak, ale and
mushroom pie lunch.
Three Ipswich Town stars dropped in at Colne
Community School to celebrate Great Bentley
Youth's cash windfall from the Football Foundation.
The newly-formed club train on Colne's artificial
pitch every Wednesday and their £7,742 small grant
cheque was presented by Tractor Boys trio Jason De
Vos, Sam Parkin and Shane Supple.
Great Bentley's Graham Budinger spoke about the
club's cash plans: “This cheque means that we can
really push the club forward and provide a good
standard of football for all the children.We'll put
the money towards things like facility hire and
organising extra coaches for our training sessions.
We're going to be working with Coerver
9
ONSIDE | The Football Foundation Newsletter | Issue 15
The club are also warming up for their first ever
league season with a series of friendly fixtures as
Graham explained: “We've played some games
against local sides like Stanway Rovers and Clacton
United and it's been a great experience for us as
they're really well run clubs and you can learn
so much.”
Essex County FA Football Development Officer, Pat
Kielty, added: “We were impressed with the
professionalism at Great Bentley Youth and the
Football Foundation grant will really help them lay
down a solid base for the future.
Graham and his team are also working towards
the Charter Standard Award which is a certificate
of good practice at grass roots level so the future
is certainly looking bright for Great Bentley Youth.”
CRYSTAL PALACE
EMBRACES A
POSITIVE FUTURE
INVICTA VALIANTS WIN
BBC YOUNG TEAM OF
THE YEAR AWARD
At the prestigious BBC South East Awards 2005,
Invicta Valiants picked up the Young Team of the
Year Award.
Crystal Palace Football Club has launched a new
community scheme designed at helping the
most marginalised kids in their area turn their
lives around.
By engaging marginalised young people in sport and
other activities, Positive Futures aims to build
relationships between responsible adults and young
people based on mutual trust and respect, in order
to create new opportunities for alternative lifestyles.
The programme aims to use sport as a catalyst to
encourage participants to make decisions for
themselves, and to take self-determined steps
towards a positive future. Steering young people
towards educational and employment opportunities
is at the heart of the programme's agenda.
The pitch side launch of Palace's Positive Futures
scheme took place just minutes before the first
team kicked off their home game against
Wolverhampton Wanderers.
WAT A FANTASTIC
NEW PAVILION!
The Valiants, who were awarded £7,492 by the
Foundation to help develop opportunities for junior
players, were honoured alongside a host of sporting
heros. These included Kent and England cricketer
Geraint Jones, Olympic Ice Skating Champion Jayne
Torvill, Charlton Athletic's Luke Young, and Brighton
& Hove FC's manager Mark McGhee.The trophy
was received by Invicta Valiants player Alex Ramzan
on their behalf.
BBC South East covered their success throughout
the day on BBC One from lunchtime bulletins right
through to the late evening update, whilst Radio
Kent also reported the club's award.
The club was founded by David Ramzan, as his son,
Alex (who is partially sighted) couldn't compete
with other children. Frustrated that there were no
clubs in the area that could accommodate disabled
players, David decided to form Invicta Valiants.
Showing further entrepreneurial skills, the club
recently released a calendar to raise funds for
the Club.
Football in the Oxfordshire village of Watlington
now has the benefit of a brand new sports
pavilion.
Ashfield MP Geoff Hoon has welcomed
a special football grant for Dalestorth
Primary School.
Pupils at the Sutton school will benefit from
the Football Foundation funding through free
after-school clubs. The clubs will develop the
skills of pupils currently not involved in the
school's competitive teams.
The scheme has local support from West
Nottinghamshire College who are involved
with other local Foundation funded projects,
and the Nottinghamshire FA who gave the
school guidance in developing their application
for the after-school club.
The £7,035 grant will fund coaching and
training three times a week over the next
three years. The school hopes that the
scheme will subsequently be self-sufficient
through the support of volunteers who will
have benefited from the coaching and training
provided by the Foundation's grant.
Geoff Hoon visited the school and lined up
alongside staff and budding young players to
present the Football Foundation cheque.
Geoff Hoon said: “I welcome the Football
Foundation's continued support of schools in
Ashfield. Dalestorth School should be
congratulated on this successful scheme
which will give more pupils the chance to
develop their skills and enjoy the benefits of
playing football.”
A £256,000 Foundation grant enabled the
village to replace the previous dilapidated
prefabricated bungalow (which since 1967 had
been doubling as changing facilities at the site)
with the new development.
The new facility will complement the existing
pitches and training areas, turning the site into a
focus for community football in the area.To boost
interest and participation rates the ground will
become a venue for football festivals and MiniSoccer coaching. Links have also been established
with local primary schools who will be offering
their pupils after-school coaching sessions.
DALESTORTH PRIMARY
SCHOOL SCORES WITH
KIT AND AFTERSCHOOL COACHING
Peter Lee, Chief Executive of the Foundation,
welcomed the news: “Watlington Parish Council
deserve immense credit for their superb
schemes which will soon be providing players of
all ages and abilities with an outstanding new
pavilion.”
Peter Lee, Chief Executive of the Football
Foundation said: “This is an exciting example
of a small grant making a big difference to a
community. Schools can be vital hubs of
their communities, particularly as providers
of sporting facilities and coaching and this
scheme, with its local links, I am sure will be
a great success.”
ONSIDE | The Football Foundation Newsletter | Issue 15
10
KIDS PLAY SAFE THANKS
TO BRENDA'S CAMPAIGN
AND DETERMINATION
A leading campaigner to rid Britain’s football pitches
of dangerous goalposts and replace them with safe
ones has been honoured with a bravery award.
'FOUNDATION ENABLES THE MARGINALISED
TO BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES' - SOUTH LONDON
SPECIAL LEAGUE
Brenda Smith decided to push for change after her
son Jonathan was killed playing football when
insecure goalposts collapsed on him in 1991.
Speaking about her campaign, Brenda said: “I am
delighted to be able to say that I have played a
small part in making goalposts safe for children
participating in football games. The loss of my son
Jonathan, was a devastating event which my family
will never recover. If his loss was not in vain
because we helped to make it safe for children to
play then that will help us as a family.
At last the Football Association is taking this
seriously and I thank Matthew Gajdus from the
Football Foundation for the work he is doing as
the Goalpost Safety Scheme Officer.”
Recently, Alresford Primary School took advantage
of the Goalpost Safety Scheme after reading in
their local paper how the Foundation helps fund
the replacement of dangerous goalposts following
Brenda’s campaign and research from the Football
Association. Travel firm ROL matched the
£220 grant.
Mike Deal, the school’s part-time coach, said: “I
want to thank the Football Foundation, ROL Travel
and the Essex Evening Gazette for making us
aware that there are people out there working
hard to enable children to play sport safely.”
Last year the Football Foundation awarded a
grant of £122,191 to the South London
Special League towards starting a programme
which opens up the chance to play football to
players with disabilities.
This year, with all footballing eyes increasingly
focussing on June's events in Germany, Sharon
is planning a themed event entitled 'Summer
Champs 2006, incorporating the Special
World Cup'.
Revisiting it now, the scheme has been a
tremendous success with over 1,000 disabled
players and their families benefiting directly
from their work and the Foundation's funding.
Describing the difference to people's lives the
League and its funding partners have made,
Sharon said: “Through football I can honestly
say that these people are improving their
lives, through improved fitness, working as a
team, raising their self-esteem meeting new
friends and more important than everything,
raising their aspirations to enable them to
believe in themselves that they can achieve.
Up to 800 kids and 200 adults get to enjoy
regular football through the Special League's
valuable work.
A further 100 or so people turn up to two
festivals that Project Manager Sharon
Brokenshire and the League organise each year.
At the start of the season, the Fair Play Festival
promotes a positive attitude to the new
season.The Summer Champs Festival, which
traditionally closes the season, is a chance to
celebrate the players and everyone who has
supported the league, from the FA and
Foundation, right down to local businesses and
the families' carers and social workers.
The Football Foundation 30 Gloucester Place London W1U 8FF
T 0845 345 4555 F 0845 345 7057 E [email protected] W www.footballfoundation.org.uk
Registered Charity Number 1079309 Registered in England and Wales Company limited by guarantee Company Number 3876305
improving facilities • creating opportunities • building communities
At the South London Special League we
celebrate the support of the Football
Foundation. It is through their generous
funding we enable groups of disabled,
marginalised players to achieve all these
things. I believe that without Foundation
funding, hundreds of grass roots players
throughout the country would never
experience these opportunities to play
football, and make a difference to their lives.”