Foundation of Light Street Soccer reach semi-final at London Stadium tournament

Participants from the Street Soccer Academy at Sunderland AFC’s Foundation of Light got the chance to play at the London Stadium in the ‘Football for Good Trophy’.

The five-a-side tournament was held on Sunday, 19 November, to mark the inaugural Football for Good Day – a Commonwealth-wide celebration of the sport’s ability to change lives for the better.

The players were 18 to 30-year olds, who were homeless or at risk of homelessness by not being in education, employment or training, with each team representing a professional football club community organisation that delivers the Street Soccer Foundation programme.

The ten-week personal development course uses football as a catalyst to engage participants in positive mindset training, mentoring support, football coaching and employability workshops.

Teams from ten Street Soccer Academies took part in the ‘Football for Good Trophy’, with group stage and semi-final matches held on the London Stadium’s Community Pitch, before the two finalist teams took to the turf of the home of West Ham United.

The Foundation of Light team enjoyed a good run, but just missed out on a place in the final.

In the group stages, Sunderland Street Soccer opened their campaign with a 4-0 win over Brentford FC Community Sports Trust.

They followed it up with a 0-0 draw against Sheffield United Community Foundation, before beating Hull City’s Tigers Trust 3-1.

The group stage ended in a 3-1 defeat to Everton in the Community, but the Foundation of Light side had already done enough to qualify for the semi-finals.

They finished second in Group B with seven points from four games and faced Salford City’s Foundation 92 in the semi-final - losing the game in a penalty shootout.

Chelsea FC Foundation lifted the trophy following a 3-1 victory over Foundation 92 in the final.

Keith Mabbutt, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Street Soccer Foundation, said: “This very first Football for Good Day has achieved precisely what we set out to showcase. It has been a day where we have seen young people gather from literally all over the world, interacting together and encouraging everyone else and championing each other’s endeavours.

“While there could only be one winning team on the pitch, everyone playing had already won by committing to the Street Soccer Academy programme.

“Some of those playing have been through very difficult situations in their lives, but they’ve kept coming back week after week to their academy and showed that desire to complete the course, and as such I’m proud and grateful that we’ve been able to provide them the opportunity to play at the iconic London Stadium on Football For Good Day as a reward for their fantastic endeavours.

“Our very first Street Soccer Academy was in partnership with the West Ham United Foundation back in 2015, so to hold this special inaugural event at the London Stadium has personal significance to us as a charity as well. And I’m thrilled we’ve delivered on a day that has unquestionably become a true platform to inspire, to encourage countries across the world to use the global number one sport as a true force for good.”

Alongside the football tournament, GAME hosted one of the very first EA Sports FC 24 gaming tournaments, in partnership with Microsoft, in an Xbox arena set up for participants inside the London Stadium.

The final was won by Danny Neal, from Leicester City in the Community, in a 5-4 victory over Jack Matthews, of Everton in the Community - winning a brand-new Xbox for himself and winner’s trophy.

Nick Arran, Managing Director for GAME said: “It was a privilege to support Football For Good Day at the London Stadium and the event was even more successful than we could have hoped.

“As expected, the esports tournament was thrilling to watch and the opportunity to support young people in need of a leg up in life was deeply humbling.

“Community is our lifeblood here at GAME and we would like to thank all those who made the day such a special event.”

The Football for Good initiative is the brainchild of Keith Mabbutt and was launched by the Street Soccer Foundation earlier this year in support of the Commonwealth’s 2023 Year of Youth, which is celebrating 50 years of the Commonwealth Youth Programme.

Baroness Patricia Scotland, Secretary General of The Commonwealth, said: “Sport is one of the most dynamic and influential ways to allow our young people to enhance their health and opportunity, but also to learn about partnership, fairness, and bringing people together for peace. This is Football for Good.

“Football for peace and development, and the enhancement of unity across the Commonwealth.”

Layne Robinson, Head of Social Policy and Development at The Commonwealth Secretariat, added: “The Commonwealth chose Football for Good as a partner for the Year of Youth because this year, we are celebrating what young people can contribute in the world, and there’s no better thing to connect young people than sports.

“The top sport in the world is football, so it’s natural we would want to involve sports and football in our Year of Youth activities.”

The event was live streamed from the London Stadium to a global audience online and the coverage featured films from similar football events celebrating the sport’s positive impact in some of the other 56 Commonwealth member countries.

The teams that took part in the Football for Good Trophy were from Street Soccer Academies held at West Ham United Foundation, Chelsea FC Foundation, Sheffield United Community Foundation, Brentford FC Community Sports Trust, Hull City’s Tigers Trust, Everton in the Community, Sunderland FC’s Foundation of Light, Leicester City in the Community, Liverpool’s LFC Foundation and Salford City’s Foundation 92.