Issue 2 Spring / Summer 2022
ALBION IN THE COMMUNITY
NEWS
Using the power of football to help people get active, learn new skills and live well.
Joel Veltman (left) and Steven Alzate (right) donated their football boots to local children.
Hundreds back boot appeal Albion fans, players, and staff donated more than 300 pairs of boots. Albion in the Community (AITC) held a boot collection outside the Amex Stadium before the men’s fixture against Aston Villa on 26 February. Fans generously donated unused football boots in their dozens to AITC staff at the collection point before the game. Brighton & Hove Albion’s men’s and women’s team have also backed the appeal, with players from the first teams,
development squads, and academy donating their boots. The boots will be given to participants involved in AITC’s Premier League Kicks free football programme, providing new pairs of football boots to families who need them the most. AITC held the appeal after identifying a growing number of children at its sessions who can’t afford appropriate footwear to take part. Matt Dorn, chief executive of AITC, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the generosity our fans have shown in this appeal.
Victoria Williams (left) and Maya Le Tissier (right) also generously donated their boots.
“Football plays a key part in making a difference to people’s lives, and we want to make sure there are no financial barriers preventing people from taking part.” To find out more about the work of Albion in the Community visit: albioninthecommunity.org.uk
NEWS ROUNDUP Fern Whelan visits girls-only coaching session Former Albion and England defender Fern Whelan visited the girls at an AITC coaching session. Fern met with all the girls at the session, answered their questions, and even joined in with their game.
Fern said: “I can’t stress enough how important the pathway is. “When I started playing, there was nothing like this. I was only one girl with a whole load of boys.”
Albion opens the doors of the Amex to the community More than 200 local children were given the unique opportunity to play on the pitch at the Amex Stadium at the end of last season. AITC was pleased to provide the opportunity for local children to enjoy the unique experience of playing football in the stadium. Children from ten local schools were all given the opportunity to follow in the
footsteps of their Albion heroes by taking to the pitch and showing off their skills.
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Mentoring programmes launched with Sussex Police
Gabriel wins AITC Award
We teamed up with Sussex Police to provide two mentoring programmes to support young people at risk of being affected by crime in Sussex.
Gabriel Attard’s determination and unwavering positive attitude were recognised when he won the AITC Award at the club’s end-of-season Player Awards.
The Reboot mentoring scheme continues to support young people at risk of being affected by serious violence and knife crime. The Switch mentoring scheme, which ran until March 2022, saw care leavers referred to AITC by Sussex Police to help them develop positive behaviours.
In 2021, Gabriel suffered from a minor stroke.
Our mentors work one-toone with children referred to us to help them be healthier, happier and support them to make a positive change in their lives. Launch of ‘Get Fit With Football’ programme
The day included a school’s football tournament, with an under-11s girls’ competition and an under-9s mixedteam contest. The Oaks Primary School were the winners of the under-11s tournament and returned to Crawley with the Albion Cup. Elsewhere, Southwater Junior Academy lifted the under-9s mixedteam trophy. Alongside the school competition, AITC also welcomed participants from its disability football programme to play on the pitch.
It was a frightening moment for Gabriel and his family, but he was determined to recover quickly and he has since carried on playing football at AITC sessions.
Women in Brighton are getting active with the help of AITC’s ‘Get Fit With Football’ programme.
Premier League Inspires AITC hosted the Premier League Inspires challenge development day at the Amex. Dozens of children travelled to the Amex to learn more about environmental sustainability. Secondary school students from across the south east were chosen by their local football clubs to create a social action project.
For more information on any of our activities, please email: info@albioninthecommunity.org.uk.
The scheme was launched just days after the club celebrated International Women’s Day. The programme encourages women to get active and improve their fitness in a friendly environment. Participants will learn some basic football skills, designed to improve their coordination and build their confidence with a football.
IN FOCUS Name: Finley Forsyth Session: Disability football Like many young children, Finley Forsyth was eager to lace up his football boots and play for his local team. However, the budding footballer soon encountered a stumbling block.
It’s really inclusive and Finley loves it.”
The nine-year-old player with autism struggled to feel accepted within mainstream football. In previous sessions, Finley often felt alienated from the group and this sense of isolation was reflected in his lack of confidence. This all changed when he was introduced to Albion in the Community’s autismspecific sessions, which is where he found his footballing home. Finley first became involved with the charity in September 2019 and took part in the weekly football sessions. As his confidence started to improve, our face-to-face sessions came to a grinding halt as the country was plunged into lockdown. Despite this sudden change to life as we knew it, Finley embraced the switch to online communications, as he attended 25 Zoom sessions since March 2020. “We have seen Finley continue to grow in confidence since he first joined AITC, having had very mixed experiences in ‘mainstream’ football,” AITC’s disability manager Paul Brackley explained. “We were delighted that he continued to engage with our activities when we
had to switch to virtual delivery and even more so that it seemed to give him a new sense of confidence.” Alongside the weekly online meetings, he also joined a Q&A with some Brighton & Hove Albion players and also a ‘Match of the Day’ Zoom session. Furthermore, the young footballer was nominated to be a virtual mascot for a Women’s Super League fixture between the Albion and Tottenham. As the charity returned to face-to-face delivery, Finley managed to bring his online enthusiasm into the in-person sessions. Brackley explained how Finley has emerged as a popular and integral member of the group, which highlights his significant personal development since joining the charity. Finley’s dad Steve spoke positively about the autism-specific sessions and the
impact the charity has had on his son. “It’s been a really positive experience, it’s really inclusive and Finley loves it. It’s something that he looks forward to doing and it’s an experience he wouldn’t normally get from club football.” He later added: “The support from Albion in the Community has been excellent, they’ve really gone above and beyond.”
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AITC NEWS
Albion stars support their community Albion stars Adam Lallana and Victoria Williams have been named as our PFA Community Champions for the 2021/22 season. Both players are ambassadors for Albion in the Community, representing the charity within their squads and in the wider community.
Speaking at the time Lallana was pointed as ambassador, he said: “It is a real honour to be asked again to be one of Albion in the Community’s official ambassadors and I’m delighted to be taking up the role and supporting the charity’s important work.”
Lallana and Williams were announced as AITC ambassadors at the beginning of the season, reprising the roles they also held in the 2020/21 season.
Williams, also delighted to be selected, added: “The past 18 months have been challenging for so many people in our community and I’ve seen first-hand how big a role AITC plays in people’s lives locally. “Everyone at the club can be proud of what AITC has achieved and I am extremely proud to be an ambassador for the charity again this season,” she said. Despite the continued impact of Covid-19 regulations this season both players have managed to make a difference in local communities across Sussex. Both Lallana and Williams were among the group of first team players who
donated their own boots to AITC’s boot appeal in February, which saw hundreds of boots given to local children who play at AITC’s Premier League Kicks sessions. Players from the Albion academy also got involved in their local communities this season: under-18 stars Ben Jackson and Zak Sturge surprised youngsters by coaching a training session at Dorothy Stringer school in Brighton.
AITC NEWS Disability teams round up In January AITC was visited by two representatives from the FA’s Para talent staff. Chris Day, FA Talent Consultant (Para), spoke about how impressed he was on his visit to AITC. “This is almost certainly the strongest hub nationally in terms of delivery, player numbers, and players in the pathway,” he said. In recent months AITC has had a number of its players called up to represent their national teams. The disability football pathway has had an especially successful year, with 30
AITC players earning international callups for their respective national sides. Four AITC players have been called up to the England Men’s Blind Football team, who are due to play in the Blind Football European Championships in Italy this summer. Two players from Brighton & Hove Albion Cerebral Palsy FC – Scott Martin and Sean Millership – were called up to the Scotland side to face Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Canada. Brighton & Hove Albion Blind FC celebrated its debut this year, and has already qualified for the FA Disability Cup Final at St George’s Park in June.
Our Powerchair Football team also had a very successful season; the Seagulls earned promotion back to the Premiership at the first time of asking, pipping Bournemouth to the title in a dominant campaign. To get involved in our disability football programme, please email: disability@albioninthecommunity.org.uk
Find out more follow us on social Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and TikTok to find out more about the life-changing work we do across Sussex.
Soccer STEM programme launches This season saw the unveiling of AITC’s Soccer STEM initiative. As part of the programme, AITC use football-themed robots to teach science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) skills. To celebrate the launch and help inspire youngsters, Seagulls legend and AITC ambassador Glenn Murray made an appearance at Fairlight Primary School in Brighton.
Murray’s visit was shown on Match of the Day, who filmed pupils from year six who have learnt how to code the robots and make them move around a football pitch. Glenn Murray was impressed with what he saw and reflected: “I think Soccer STEM is an incredible initiative helping children to learn important skills that they will need in their future careers and as they move into secondary school.”
FABULOUS FUNDRAISERS Local people and businesses clubbed together to raise £12,600 to replace powerchairs that fell into disrepair during the pandemic. Due to a lack of use over lockdown, several of AITC’s powerchairs were no longer fit for purpose and needed replacing. More than 80 fans made donations to the appeal, alongside generous gifts from Tysers insurance brokers and 14 local Sussex Co-op stores.
JG&JR Langridge, a building company based in Sussex, donated a fantastic £2,000 to AITC to help support our mental wellbeing football sessions across East and West Sussex.
Annie Marr ran the Brighton half marathon for AITC in February, raising more than £630 in the process. Annie’s sister, Izzy, plays football at AITC’s inclusive disability sessions. After seeing how much her sister loves AITC, Annie was inspired to raise money for the charity.
Brighton & Hove Buses made a brilliant donation of £2,230 thanks to the Santa Bus campaign. The famous Santa Bus visited more than 200 streets across Brighton and Hove in search of donations for local charities, with volunteers giving 1,000 hours of their time to keep the Santa Bus running. The Santa Bus campaign has raised £370,000 since it began in 2004. Tanya Clubb has been baking cakes for AITC for nearly a decade. Her cakes are either sold to raise money for the charity, or used as centrepieces at important events.
Thank you to all of our fabulous fundraisers!
GET INVOLVED Support our work: future fundraising events
End of Season Auction 27 May – 4 June
Blue and White Fun Run 25 June
Brighton Breezy Cycle Ride 24 July
London to Brighton Cycle Ride 11 September
To mark the end of the 2021/22 season AITC will be auctioning exclusive Brighton & Hove Albion memorabilia to raise money for the charity.
Mascot Gully will be joining participants for a fun run around the Amex Stadium and more blue-and-white-themed activities.
Join us for a one-day cycle ride across the beautiful South Downs to raise money for AITC, starting and finishing at the Amex Stadium.
We have spaces available in the iconic London to Brighton ride. The 55-mile route begins in the centre of London before coming to a finish on Brighton beach.
Blue and White Week: 25 June – 1 July Blue and White Week is a seven-day festival of fundraising in aid of Albion in the Community. We’re asking Albion fans, schools, and businesses across Sussex to get creative and raise money for AITC by taking part in fun blue-and-white-themed activities throughout the week.
How AITC helped McKenzie to become a leader McKenzie Box, 14, is one of the many children to have flourished in AITC’s football sessions at Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) schools.McKenzie - who takes part in AITC’s inclusive sessions at St Mary’s school in Horam - hugely impressed his coaches with how much he has grown in confidence. By the end of the programme McKenzie was even staying to help support the younger pupils. AITC disability education development officer Hayley Templeman explained how he became a shining example: “McKenzie was an absolute pleasure to coach during the
sessions, and he always had a great attitude. “McKenzie always comes with a smile and is keen to help where he can.” The sessions have inspired McKenzie to get involved further with AITC at the charity’s weekend disability football sessions. McKenzie told us: “The football sessions have been really good, and it has been a great way to release any frustrations during the week. “I really enjoy learning the skills, working as a team, and supporting the younger pupils.”
For more information on any of our fundraising events, donations, or other ways you can help, please email: fundraising@albioninthecommunity.org.uk or call: 01273 878246.
AITC NEWS
Become a Community Champion Community Champions are a special team of loyal fans and supporters who commit to support the charity regularly with just £5 a month. In doing so they become part of a family of supporters who will receive some very exciting benefits. For just £5 a month, you will: • Join a special team of Albion fans, local people and players supporting the charity’s work in the Sussex community. • Receive invites to unique stadium events and other activities. • Receive an exclusive Community Champions pin badge, regular updates, and an end of season review. • Feel pride in changing the lives of those in your local community.
By providing a regular gift, Community Champions enable Albion in the Community to support those most in need by providing funds the charity can rely on in the long term. A regular donation of just £5 per month helps AITC to change lives by delivering inclusive football sessions for thousands of children every year, helping children learn in the classroom, and supporting families to live healthier lives.
Become a Community Champion and wear your pin badge with pride.
To become a Community Champion you can sign up on the AITC website: albioninthecommunity.org.uk/ support-us or by scanning the QR code below.
Wear your badg e with pride
Scan here to sign up For more info albionintheco rmation visit: mmunity.org. uk
If you would like to contact us, please email: info@albioninthecommunity.org.uk. Albion in the Community
@AlbionintheComm
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Albion in the Community
Albion in the Community
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Albion in the Community, American Express Community Stadium, Village Way, Brighton BN1 9BL. Tel: 01273 878265. Company limited by guarantee in England and Wales (No. 5122343). Registered charity in England and Wales (No. 1110978).
albioninthecommunity.org.uk