Bloomsbury Football

FABRICE MUAMBA VISITS BLOOMSBURY FOOTBALL 💥 We were thrilled to welcome ex-Premier League star Fabrice Muamba to our Refugee and Asylum Seeker session this week! Fabrice, who arrived in London aged 11 from Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), was able to share his journey as a refugee with our young players who have been forcibly displaced. He spoke to Sky Sports News about the power of football to improve confidence and building lasting friendships. Our Refugee and Asylum Seeker programme supports young people from Ukraine, Afghanistan and many other nations. Thank you to Yaroslav and his mother Lyudmila for sharing their stories about Ukraine and their involvement with Bloomsbury Football. Thanks too to MatchFit (Sports PR Agency), for their help in pitching this story to press. #charity #london #worldrefugeeday2024 #impact

EMIRATES STADIUM WATCH PARTY ⚽ Bloomsbury Football hosted its largest ever community event at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium last week. 1,400 people joined us to watch England v Denmark, the Three Lions' second group stage game of EURO 2024. This was a fantastic opportunity for us to celebrate the growth of our organisation in the last twelve months. The benefits of football extend far beyond the pitch, and bringing together players, their families and friends from across our football provision helped strengthen ties in our community. As we continue to grow, we are keen to host more community events in order to continue integrating our different football streams, and enable our players to feel part of something bigger. Thank you to the Emirates Stadium for hosting us, to all those in attendance, and to all our supporters, whose continued generosity allows us to provide such amazing opportunities to young people in London. #charity #london #euro2024 #bloomsburyfootball

CELEBRATING WORLD REFUGEE DAY 🗺 The UN Refugee Agency reports how in the year to September 2023, more than 114 million individuals were forcibly displaced. That is the largest single-year increase ever recorded by the organisation.   June 20th is World Refugee Day. This international day celebrates the courage and strength of those who have been forced to flee their homes and countries. With rising levels of forced displacement, the day is more important than ever. Bloomsbury Football is proud to provide free of charge Refugee and Asylum Seeker sessions for displaced young people via our Special Projects provision. This provision is a central tenet of our commitment to provide accessible, affordable and fun football sessions to all young people in London. These weekly sessions provide an engaging and culturally sensitive environment where children can improve their language skills, physical fitness and mental health. Perhaps most importantly, the sessions also offer a safe space for participants to combat isolation and loneliness by making new friends – a major issue that impacts a significant proportion of displaced people. Ava, not her real name, joined the programme after arriving in London from Iran. Initially, she found it difficult to make friends, but tells how that changed once she got on the pitch with Bloomsbury Football. “After the day I enter to this session, I find more friends and I could spend my free time on something that is special to me. Everything in Bloomsbury’s Football session is good, we can enjoy and play with the guys there. Playing football with them is the best thing!” Arif, not his real name, lived in Bangladesh before being forcibly displaced. He joined our Tuesday session in West London, where players are collected by their coaches from their accommodation, taken to their session and enjoy a meal together afterwards. “From the moment I joined, I was welcomed into a supportive and passionate community of players and coaches. Every moment spent with Bloomsbury Football leaves me with a sense of pride and excitement”. We are proud that our Refugee and Asylum Seeker sessions are supporting young people like Ava and Arif, and we will not stop here. We will continue to scale this programme to engage more displaced young people in our city through the power of football. Many players who still attend our Refugee and Asylum Seeker sessions have gone on to join our other football programmes, giving them further opportunities to build friendships and integrate into their community. Strategically, we are committed to supporting Refugees and Asylum Seekers as we grow as a charity. Further, we are determined to continue welcoming displaced young people into our community, with a view to aiding their social integration into their new home. #WorldRefugeeDay #WithRefugees #Charity #London

Leah Williamson visits Bloomsbury Football 💥   You may have seen that 17 Bloomsbury Football players were mascots for the UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley, but do you know who told them the news? 👀 In April, England captain Leah Williamson paid a visit to one of our Girls Academy sessions to tell the girls that they would be taking to the pitch for the final. The result? Pure magic.  At Bloomsbury Football, we believe in the life-changing power of football – on & off the pitch. Leah Williamson is an inspiration to so many of our players and meeting her was a dream come true. We are grateful to Mastercard for creating this once in a lifetime opportunity for our players ⚽️

Everyone Gets a Shot ⚽️ Have you seen our billboard campaign yet? This campaign, created with JCDecaux UK and Havas Play UK , celebrates how Bloomsbury Football is using the power of football to support 5,000 young Londoners each week. As the EUROs 2024 kicks off this week, we want to ensure that young people are kept in the conversation. As players around our city are inspired by the Three Lions, Bloomsbury Football is providing accessible & affordable sessions across London to ensure inspiration turns into action. We’d love to hear what you think! Comment below if you’ve seen the campaign on a billboard near you & what you thought of it ⬇️

Did you catch the stars of the UEFA Champions League Final last Saturday? 🤩 No, we’re not talking about Real Madrid or Borussia Dortmund players... We're talking about the 17 Bloomsbury Football players that were invited to be mascots for the game! Our players took to the pitch at Wembley in front of nearly 90,000 fans for the biggest game in club football, the UEFA Champions League. As well as meeting the players, they were given the chance to watch the game itself, where Borussia Dortmund took on Real Madrid, who secured their record 15th title in the competition. Thanks to Mastercard, UEFA and UEFA Foundation for Children for coordinating this event, and providing our players with a truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! 

BLOOMSBURY BILLBOARD TAKEOVER 💥 London looks a little different today... Have you noticed why? Bloomsbury Football has launched our first ever billboard campaign! This morning, images of Bloomsbury Football players went live across 126 billboards & bus shelters in London - including at iconic locations such as Westminster Bridge Road and the Old Street roundabout. With the EUROs kicking off next week, all eyes turn to the beautiful game. With this campaign, we are celebrating how Bloomsbury Football is making the power of football accessible to young Londoners. As we cheer on our teams this summer, it is vital that young people's access to football is a part of the conversation. The price of playing in London means that many young people are being excluded from the sport. That's why Bloomsbury Football exists - to ensure that every young person can access the life-changing power of football. We are proud to say that when a young person is inspired by Saka or Bellingham this summer, we are here to ensure inspiration turns into action - they are welcome at Bloomsbury. We are proud to say that on our squad, everyone gets a shot. A huge thank you to @havasplay & @JCDecaux for their support. If you see the billboards around London today please take a photo & share to your Instagram stories tagging @bloomsburyfootball and #EveryoneGetsaShot to be in for the chance of winning prizes in our giveaway! Details in comments below ⬇️ 

CHANGING THE GAME WITH LALIGA ⚽️ Last week, we hosted over 100 girls from schools across London in the LALIGA x Bloomsbury Football Schools Tournament! The goal of our multi-year partnership with LALIGA is to create new & exciting opportunities for the young people in our community to get on the pitch. The LALIGA x Bloomsbury Football tournaments give our players the chance to play in a competitive & inclusive environment, proudly wear a LALIGA team kit. The girls at the tournament got an extra boost of inspiration meeting current Brighton & former FC Barcelona captain, Vicky Losada. Vicky has won a number of trophies during a career that has seen her play for Roma, Manchester City & Arsenal! Vicky is using her platform to champion girls in football. Speaking to The Independent last week, she praised the LALIGA x Bloomsbury Football tournament for giving young girls the opportunity to “fall in love with football”. Congratulations to all involved & thank you LALIGA for continuing to support our game-changing work in London 💥

Bloomsbury Football were delighted to attend Eleven Sports Media's 'Summer Festival' at West Ham's iconic London Stadium. At the event, Partnerships team members Reuben Hinkson and Samuel Levey spoke to broadcaster Adam Leventhal about our mission - to help reduce access barriers to football and improve young people's mental and physical health through the power of sport. Thank you to Ted Crowson and the entire Eleven Sports Media team for hosting us at such an amazing event! We look forward to continuing working together in the future! ⚽ #charity #london #impact #bloomsburyfootball

INCLUSIVE SCHOOLS FESTIVAL 🌟   Last week Bloomsbury Football hosted our annual Inclusive Schools Festival at Loftus Road, home of EFL Championship side Queen’s Park Rangers.   120+ Special Educational Needs (SEN) students, supported by over 30 Bloomsbury staff, attended the event - more than double the number from last year.   For many of the players, it was a one-of-a-kind experience to step outside the classroom, completing training drills and playing in small-sided games. Specifically designed by our coaches, these drills were tailored to improve participant coordination & mobility, teamwork and communication.   The day was a huge success for all involved, with one member of staff from Gesher School in North West London saying "Everyone came away so happy today, it was the best trip [the students] have been on".   Bloomsbury Football is committed to reducing access barriers to sport for every young person. Our Special Projects provision includes a fortnightly Pan-Disability session, which we aim to grow to engage more than 100 young people with additional needs.   Congratulations to Esme Scantlebury, Cameron Gordon, Sam Wilson Ford and all the team involved for delivering such a successful event. Our thanks go to the team at QPR FC, Loftus Road and all our participating partner schools.   #charity #london #inclusivity #football #specialeducationalneeds