Over 150 people, including football luminaries, gathered recently at the Speaker’s House in Westminster to honor London United, a collaborative network of 16 professional football club community organizations, including Watford FC’s Community Sports and Education Trust.
Interim Chair of the Trust Simon Macqueen, Community Director Rob Smith, and Duty Officer at Cedars Youth and Community Centre Hollie Chappin represented the Hornets and the Trust. Luther Blissett OBE DL, a Watford FC icon and Club Ambassador, joined the Trust’s team, as did Eziafa, a beneficiary of the Trust’s community work.
ziafa – or Azi as she is known to the Trust team – is 15 years old, and her connection with the Trust began in 2019. She has been involved in the Premier League Kicks project, participating in regular dance and youth club events, as well as other social action projects, and is a member of our Premier League Kicks Project Youth Board, ensuring the Trust meets the needs of local young people.
The event, hosted by Olivia Buzaglo and sponsored by the Premier League, aimed to commemorate ten years of collective community work aimed at addressing some of the city’s most pressing issues, with a particular emphasis on employability, violence reduction, and health and wellbeing, and included a pledge to continue growing partnerships in order to do even more in the future.
The Speaker of the House of Commons, the Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle, thanked the audience of club representatives, London borough councillors, Members of Parliament, and notable figures who have supported or been a part of London United’s mission to improve the lives of Londoners in a welcoming address.
Individuals whose lives have been changed by the clubs’ efforts were on the panel, as well as Tottenham Hotspur Ambassador Ledley King, West Ham United Ambassador Carlton Cole, the Director of the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit, Lib Peck, and Caroline Clarke, Regional Director for London’s National Health Service.
“When I look at people in the Tottenham area, a very deprived area, I see a younger me and I think to myself where would I be without football, what opportunities would I have?” Ledley King stated, explaining his own motives for supporting the work of Tottenham Hotspur and London United. It is critical that we, as football teams, visit these places, be there, and inspire. Show these young people, who feel that nothing good ever happens to those from these communities, that hard work and discipline can lead to success.”
“I think sport and London United can and do play an incredible role in violence reduction,” Lib Peck remarked. Something that really strikes out to me is how many of the kids we talk to don’t feel like they matter or belong. Deprivation and alienation are major challenges in our profession, and football clubs provide a chance for people to belong and feel a part of something.
“That is extremely essential. It’s been fantastic to be able to collaborate with local clubs at a time when institutions are battling for legitimacy; football cuts through that. I’d like to collaborate with London United even more. There are many people who wish to make London a safer place, and collaboration among sporting organizations is an excellent method to do this.
Since forging their official collaboration in 2013, the clubs have used the power of football to collaborate, share experience, exchange ideas, and adopt best practices. Their shared goal is to solve current issues and execute city-wide initiatives that will help Londoners prosper. The clubs reported their annual impact, based on the 2021/22 season, which included working with over 240,000 Londoners, investing more than £30 million back into the city, and delivering over 450 programs throughout the capital.
Three participants from London United clubs also took the stage and offered inspiring tales, proving that the collective’s work reaches people of all ages. First, there’s Kyran, who got a job with the Leyton Orient Trust after taking part in their Premier League Kicks program. Eileen also shared her story, describing how she got a new lease on life after participating in West Ham United Foundation’s ‘Any Old Irons’ project. Finally, Angel discussed how, via one-on-one mentorship with the Palace for Life Foundation, she helped a young person discover a better path in life.
“Ten years ago, I was in a really bad way,” Eileen admitted, recalling the role football has had in her recovery after reaching “breaking point” due to severe anxiety and despair.
“I read about West Ham’s Any Old Irons – we are a big West Ham family – I joined that and I’ve gone on leaps and bounds really,” she continued. Everyone who has joined is older – everyone has gone through everything in life – and we’ve done particularly well with senior guys who have lost their wives. Everyone has made friends, and West Ham is like glue, but once you come, you chat about different things, and it’s been quite incredible.”
Dean Russell, Member of Parliament for Watford, commented on the role of football in society, saying, “It plays such an important role, and I think the fact that the 16 football clubs have come together to work together off the pitch, obviously they’re going to be rivals on the pitch, but to work off the pitch to help communities, inspire other people, get involved, but ultimately to act as role models across our communities is vital.”
“It’s a 10-year celebration tonight, but a lot of this work started, for us in the mid-1980s, for many of the other clubs it quickly followed, and that’s where we captured a lot of the learning: on the ground across our communities and building important partnerships,” said Freddie Hudson, Chair of London United and Head of Arsenal in the Community. This labor is difficult and demanding. We couldn’t do it alone; we need collaboration to tackle some of the issues that Londoners face.
“We hope that the event has shed some light on London United’s work and has sparked some ideas about how we can extend and deepen that collaboration over the next ten years.”
