Over 150 people from London's football club community organisations gathered at the Speaker’s House, Westminster, on Tuesday to celebrate a decade of work by London United, a collaborative network of 16 of the capital's professional football clubs.
The event, which was presented by Olivia Buzaglo and supported by the Premier League, commemorated ten years of collective community work – helping to tackle some of the biggest issues facing the city with a notable focus on employability, violence reduction and health and wellbeing – and included a pledge to keep growing partnerships to do even more in the future.
In a welcoming address, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle, praised the dedication and impact of the unique alliance, to 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.
Panellists included individuals whose lives have been changed through the clubs’ endeavours as well as West Ham United Ambassador Carlton Cole, Tottenham Hotspur Ambassador Ledley King, the Director of the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit Lib Peck, and Regional Director for London’s National Health Service Caroline Clarke.
Explaining his own motivations for supporting the work of West Ham United and London United, Cole stated: “Community to me means family, love and a sense of belonging. I feel like the kids I’ve seen over in the West Ham community, those who come from deprived backgrounds, they haven’t got the support or help from their family and it’s hard for them to get out of that challenging environment. However, with initiatives run by West Ham United and London United, it gives them hope. It’s not just about one club, it’s a community of clubs."
“I think sport and London United can, and does, play an incredible role in violence reduction,” said Peck.
“Something that really stands out for me is the fact that a lot of the kids we speak to don’t feel that they matter or belong. Deprivation and alienation are key issues in our field of work and football clubs are a way of belonging and feeling part of something. That’s really important. It’s been great that we’ve been able to work with local clubs at a time where institutions are struggling for credibility, football cuts through that.
"I’d like to work even more with London United. There are so many people who want to make London a safer place and collaboration across sporting organisations is absolutely a way to do that."
Typically fierce rivals on the pitch, the clubs have harnessed the power of football to collaborate, share expertise, exchange ideas, and implement best practices since their official partnership, which was formed in 2013. Their collective aim: to address pressing issues and implement city-wide initiatives aimed at helping Londoners to thrive.
As part of the celebration, the clubs shared their annual impact, based on the 2021/22 season, which consisted of working with over 240,000 Londoners, investment of more than £30million back into the city, and delivery of over 450 programmes in the capital.
Three participants from London United clubs also graced the stage and shared inspiring stories, demonstrating that the work of the collective reaches all ages. Firstly, Kyran, who found employment with the Leyton Orient Trust after being a participant in their Premier League Kicks programme. Eileen also shared her experience, highlighting how she found a new lease of life after joining West Ham United Foundation’s ‘Any Old Irons’ project. Finally, Angel spoke about how she has helped a young participant find a better route in life through one-to-one mentoring with the Palace for Life Foundation.
Eileen admitted: “Ten years ago I was in a really bad way,” as she recounted the role football has played in her recovery after reaching “breaking point” due to severe anxiety and depression.
“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.
“All the people that have joined are older - everyone’s experienced everything in life - and we’ve done really well with elderly men who have lost their wives.
“It’s just been wonderful, everyone has made friends and West Ham is like glue but once you come, you talk about different things, and it’s been quite amazing."
Freddie Hudson, Chair of London United and Head of Arsenal in the Community, said: “It’s a ten-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. This work is tough and challenging. We couldn’t attempt to do it on our own, we need the partnerships to overcome some of the challenges that Londoners are facing.”
Commenting on the role of football across society, Dean Russell, Member of Parliament for Watford, said: “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, to inspire other people, to get involved, but ultimately to act as role models across our communities.”
