Author: afcunity

Friday night, March 24th saw the culmination of a rollercoaster ride of a season with the CFM Limited AFC Unity Awards Night at the Hidden Gem Cafe. As with last year’s event, the location, the awards and their titles were given a twist on tradition, in keeping with Unity’s status as an “alternative football club.”

Official AFC Unity sponsors CFM Limited put on the event, which honoured players and non-playing personnel alike for all their efforts in a challenging campaign. Every player who completed the campaign was presented with their own award in the spirit of “Unity.”

Sophie Mills was presented the Hope Over Fear Award by manager Jay Baker, who chose her for her three years of commitment to the club (having joined the night after Unity’s first-ever league game), and her dedication and determination throughout the season, fighting for and keeping a consistent place in the first team where she also took on a leadership role and played in various positions for the good of the squad while taking her skills to a higher level. “Millsy” also recovered from the black eye sustained in a heading collision in the final game in time for this photo.

Replacing last season’s Breakout Award, the Takeoff Award was created as the AFC Unity Jets Head Coach’s choice for player of the season, and gaffer Emily Salvin selected Chloe Burditt for her development, commitment, and positivity and for representing the team and the club as a whole so well.

Last year’s Hope Over Fear Award winner, Jodean Wadsworth, this time took the Unity Award as chosen by her own teammates, winning it in a landslide. The season’s top goalscorer, but more importantly than that – as first team co-captains Jane Watkinson and Simone Fenton-Jarvis explained – Jo developed as a player and a person, helped develop newer players in initiatives such as Solidarity Soccer, and had a great attitude throughout the season in-keeping with AFC Unity’s aims of “100% Positivity.”

Far from being a landslide, the AFC Unity Jets found voting on a teammate as players’ player far more challenging as evidenced by the result which at least gave us two clear joint winners: Sarah Choonara and Sue Bagshaw! Player/coach Corinne Heritage presented them both with the When You’re A Jet Award and commended them for their fantastic efforts throughout the season.

Simone Fenton-Jarvis took this season’s Integrity Award for upholding the vision and values of the club and defending it in challenging times. Manager Jay Baker described how she approached AFC Unity with such a shared philosophy that he at first thought it was a rib! She then went on to become first team co-captain. Like last season’s winner Charlotte Marshall, Simone represented the club so well and did so much for it that she followed Charlotte onto the Board of Directors, where she now helps run the club.

Last year there were three Solidarity Award winners for non-playing personnel who helped to develop and progress the club. This year, there was only one: Emily Salvin, who was injured in the Sarah Richards Testimonial in May of 2016 and went on to become the Head Coach of the AFC Unity Jets while recuperating, developing as a footballing brain and as a person, and working hard week in week out to develop the newly-created second team players. Manager Jay Baker heaped praise on her for her commitment and efforts and wished her well for the future.

First team goalkeeper Steph Sargent was presented with the unique CFM Award as selected by the sponsors, represented by Mel Scott and Simone Fenton-Jarvis. Steph was awarded for ‘representing the shared ethos of both AFC Unity and CFM,’ and by staying involved with the team and the club even while injured, promoting the club, and coming back to prove her invaluable worth on the pitch in goal.

Manager Jay Baker praised the AFC Unity Jets present – from a squad of 18 registered players even after call-ups to the first team, he emphasised – for making it to the end of the season, showing integrity themselves in the face of heavy defeats when so many others walked away, he said. He gave credit to Emily Salvin as well as player-coach Corinne Heritage for keeping the team going for so long and commended the remaining nexus of the squad.

As AFC Unity revert back to one highly-competitive squad of 25 registered players to choose a Sunday 16 from, Baker also made a declaration of intent for Unity’s return after spring break, which included an invitation of players – based on attitude, attendance, and ability – to try out for the team; players prioritised for their passion for Unity’s Football Philosophy and playing style; a selection of various formations within that style of play; a trial period that will last into the summer; all incoming players to trial for 4 weeks before being eligible for registration; more team-bonding socials; and promotion of co-captains Jane Watkinson and Simone Fenton-Jarvis to club co-captains, meaning the team captaincy would change around to nurture leadership qualities and collectivism.

Players also thanked Emily Salvin, and Jay Baker and Jane Watkinson (both co-founders of the club) for all their efforts over the season, giving them gifts as tokens of appreciation, which they were very pleased by. The event ended with thanks to Hidden Gem Cafe, photographer Kate Fenton-Jarvis, and CFM Limited who made the Awards Night possible.

Congratulations to all involved with AFC Unity right through to the end of the season and here’s to an exciting future!

The AFC Unity Jets – our newly-created second team – have returned to their “hangar” as the AFC Unity Board of Directors have decided the side will not finish this season in the Sheffield & Hallamshire Women’s County Football League.

An audacious experiment, the AFC Unity Jets took off last summer when demand was so high that the decision was made to introduce a second team as a way of giving previous first team players more much-needed game time, as well as offer opportunities to others who wanted to experience competitive football with less commitment – resulting in a squad of over 16 registered players throughout the season but not all available for matches.

Despite heavy defeats against much more established teams from far bigger clubs, the AFC Unity Jets kept their spirits high and ran until almost the end of the extended season, after several players moving on lowered matchday numbers further and finally necessitated its winding up.

As part of our upcoming annual spring break – and in the midst of speculation on the league having two divisions, or even with AFC Unity facing a return to Division 3 – the organisation will undergo an exciting restructuring and, as part of that, revert back to having one team next season, so our award-winning, strictly independent women’s football club can focus all of its limited resources on a strong squad of 25 players to get the club focused for further success in the future. This team is sure to be comprised of some current AFC Unity Jets players, as well as most players from the injury-hit first team. Announcements and invitations to try out for the team will be made soon.

The AFC Unity Jets reflect the organisation’s dedication to increasing opportunities in football for women of all backgrounds, at all levels – and alongside the Solidarity Soccer initiative, several other projects will be announced in the near future.

‘Being Head Coach of the AFC Unity Jets has been a great opportunity to help me develop as a coach as well as a player and it’s been a pleasure to work with a great club full of fantastic people’ said Emily Salvin, who took on the role after finding out a serious injury would keep her out of the first team for the whole season. ‘It’s helped me get through my injury as well as see the game from a different perspective. The players from the start have always supported and respected me regardless of me being so young, and they’ve helped the whole experience be so enjoyable.’

‘The AFC Unity Jets have been an inspiration to us all and have been the embodiment of Unity spirit,’ said AFC Unity Chair Anna Cordwell. ‘While we have had to face the fact that we can’t continue with two teams for now, those involved with the Jets have made it a thoroughly positive experience and have helped the club to grow. With the involvement of people like this, who are Unity through and through, we can all look forward to an exciting next season!’

‘The AFC Unity Jets have been awesome this season,’ said AFC Unity director Simone Fenton-Jarvis. ‘Their drive to learn, sheer determination, love for football and the club ethos has all been inspirational – and I say that not just as a director, but as a player; if we could bottle all of that, I’m sure every club in the league would be buying it!’

‘It is something everyone involved should be very proud of,’ said AFC Unity co-founder Jane Watkinson. ‘Emily Salvin has been a fantastic Head Coach and the team’s spirit and ethos has impressed and had a positive impact on many. With several women engaged via the Jets in competitive 11-a-side football for the first time, it’s something the club should be proud of and it’s something we will learn and build from. Thanks to everyone who put in so much hard work and maintained such a positive attitude to achieve what they did.’

‘In the sense of fulfilling what were in many cases decades-long dreams of 11-a-side affiliated league football – and giving other players game time to develop in a relaxed atmosphere without pressures – the AFC Unity Jets more than achieved its aims,’ said AFC Unity co-founder Jay Baker. ‘There are players who endured heavy defeats but kept going, and if you can build character, stay strong, play for that badge, and enjoy your football even without winning, well…for several players, very rewarding times indeed are ahead.’

by Tom Menzies

This week’s fixture ended 2-9 to the away side, as unbeaten Barnsley Development’s fast and physical football style was one to be too much for AFC Unity. The match’s scoreline does show one of class and optimism for Barnsley Development who are climbing their way to the top of the league table, but also of injustice for AFC Unity who showed grit and determination until the end of the match.

 

The opening 45 minutes of the match showed a massive contrast between each of the two teams’ footballing styles, as each side managed to find the other’s vulnerability and pounce at the opportunity. Barnsley Development were the first to seize the lead in the match, in which they showed intuition to take advantage of the home’s side absences at the back from a set piece. A good amount of pressure from Unity did win them a corner early on in the first half, but their failure to put the ball in the net meant a counter-attack would break away for the away side. Barnsley’s number 11 managed to run down the wing and pull the ball back across goal for the striker to tap it in. No heads were hung from AFC Unity following their disadvantage early on, as they had a few chances to get back into the game. One of these involved Mills, who took a shot on goal following a clearance from a defender but unfortunately only managed to hit the woodwork. The other chance did manage to bring the home team level on goals, as Cusack pulled away an exquisite shot on goal, forcing the goalkeeper to parry the ball into her own net. The end of the first half did call on Unity goalkeeper Sargent to keep the home side still in the game; Sargent’s recent return from injury didn’t show to phase her through this period of the match as she did manage to make some heroic saves from the threat of Barnsley Development’s strike force. However, the ongoing pressure did result in two away goals as their number 9 and number 11 were sent through the middle of Unity’s defence, each finding the bottom corner of the net in the dying minutes of the first half. This meant that the away team had the upper-hand before the break, being 1-3 up after 45 minutes.

The second half of the match deemed more attacking minded for each of the two teams as the intensified midfield clash meant players ruthlessly challenged for an opportunity to get the ball forward. Barnsley Development showed no signs of complacency in their lead, as they started the second half strong as again, number 9 and number 11 managed to score 5 away goals between them by putting fine finishes into the net sending their the team 1-8 ahead. Despite the skill of their opponents, AFC Unity managed to display their class and composure on the ball as they fought hard to get the ball forward to their front players and give the away side a hard time at the back. Donohue for Unity showed one of the highlights of the match with an exquisite shot from outside the box, putting the ball past the goalkeeper, making the scoreline 2-8. The match ended on an away goal for the away side, as Barnsley Development’s number 14 drove into the Unity area and finished the match 2-9 to the away visitors.

After the match AFC Unity manager, Jay Baker, spoke about his views on the scoreline and how he thought it reflected his own side’s performance: ‘The result seems way over the top and unfair for how the game went today. We have nothing to be ashamed of. We played against a fine footballing unbeaten side today but to their own admission they struggled with our system at first’. The manager also went on talk about his decision to stick with Unity’s style of play and how he thinks it will prove to be a success for his side in the future. ‘It’s a work in progress. Once we embrace positive brave attacking football rather than being negative and defensive, we’ll get there’.

Despite the unjustified scoreline, today Unity showed great battle against an undefeated team who are fighting at the top of the league table. A change in mentality as opposed to physicality may deem AFC Unity an improved team in the near future as they have the capability to beat the best but they need to believe they can do so.

Moving the topic aside from football, today showed another great achievement for Unity as they managed to collect a huge amount of food donations for the local food banks in Sheffield. Food poverty is a massive problem within the local area and the UK in general, with approximately 4,000,000 people currently living in food poverty across the country. Together, we can help tackle this problem as a force of unity and do our part to reduce these numbers. I’d like to give you a big well done today girls, on and off the pitch.

by Tom Menzies

Despite AFC Unity’s bravery and fighting effort in their battle against Mexborough Athletic, their efforts to come back from behind were shattered in the closing minutes of the game as a looping fitness shot sealed their fate and the match finished 2-4 to the away side.

The first half showed much to be one of a midfield battle between the two teams, as each side showed their intention to battle for the ball and get it forward in the final third of the pitch. AFC Unity were unlucky to concede an early goal in just the third minute of the match, which automatically put the home side at a disadvantage. However, despite this drawback, Unity were to dominate the core passing play in the centre of the park for the rest of the half, as the central midfielders and wing backs connected fluently to put pressure on the away side straight away. Unity’s high tempo style of football instantly proved effective, as Kotta came close with a good run down the left flank using skill to beat the Mexborough defence before shooting wide of the goal. Nevertheless, the away side bounced back from early pressure as their number 9 stormed past Unity’s central defenders to shoot at goal, but it wasn’t enough to beat Sophie Mills whose impressive save showed no signs of nerves when covering out-of-action Steph Sargent due to injury. The closing key moment of the first half involved Unity’s Shanie Donohue from a free kick, who made a fantastic run on goal before cleverly chipping the charging goalkeeper; Kotta ran towards the looping ball to nod it in for the home side, but an acrobatic clearance from a Mexborough defender ensured that the away team went into the second half with a one goal advantage.

The second half of the match up between the two teams showed more quality in the final third, as the sides went back and forth in the race to come on top before the final whistle. Mexborough Athletic came close on a couple of occasions in the early minutes of the half, when their number 7, Natasha Carlton, ran straight through the home team’s back line to run on goal and managed to beat the goalkeeper with her shot, before hitting the post and maintaining the away side’s advantage to just the one goal. It was AFC Unity who were able to strike first in the second half, as Kotta sprinted down the left with intention before cutting the ball across the goal line and the rest was finished by Spillings, putting Unity at level on their home turf and making the score 1-1. Mexborough Athletic showed no signs of forfeiting their initial efforts on goal as they reacted rapidly with Carlton persistently peppering Unity’s defence. A cross was chipped into the 18 yard box by the Mexborough full back, and headed home by Carlton; once again the away side had the advantage over Unity, as the scoreline reached 1-2. Resilience and determination fuelled the home side to push on and shake away their drawback, as Kotta put pressure on the defender from a Unity cross and forced an own goal to put the scores equal once again at 2-2. The remainder of the second half involved a good level of pressure and intensity by the home side, as the midfield battle showed players flying in to tackles and intercepting loose balls being thrown across the grass. However, it wasn’t enough to stop a third goal for Mexborough in the last quarter of the match as a scramble in the box meant that the away side were able to head away an easy goal in fortune of miscommunication amongst Unity’s defence. Despite AFC Unity’s fighting efforts against Mexborough to try and gain their side a point, in the dying minutes of the match a fantastic finish from Carlton curled over the goalkeeper to seal their fate as it meant the away side were 2-4 up when the final whistle blew. Lots of positives from each of the two sides in this match up, as signs of ambition and persistence project a bright future for each of the two teams.

AFC Unity manager Jay Baker commented on how he thought the match had played out and how his side were possibly picked off by the opposition: ’It was a close game today, our opponents did their homework and tried to find chinks in our armour. None of this is to take anything away from Mexborough, they played well; we’ve been really unlucky and today just wasn’t our day’. The manager also spoke about the impact of injuries within the squad and how they may have affected his team. The starting line up against Mexborough was missing Jane Watkinson, as well as other crucial players to the first team line up such as Steph Sargent and Sophie Hirst, who fell ill before the game and unfortunately was unable to take part. Baker said ‘we lost a few players before the match and there were a few last minute changes that threw us off our game a bit’.

AFC Unity’s next home game is on February 5th, where they hope to shake off this minor set back and kick on with the rest of their season by playing the excellent football that they have showed here today.

As a grassroots, independent women’s football club and a legally incorporated non-profit organisation, AFC Unity rely on many forms of support through which we can increase our socially-driven activities.

One way you can help is by becoming a member.

Players are automatically made members when they are registered – with benefits beyond just being eligible to play in a customised kit with their own squad number and name on the back, or even matches and 11-a-side training covered too. They also get a 20% discount on services from our official sponsors, CFM Limited. In addition, they are invited to attend and vote at our end-of-season Awards Night, and get chance to take part in our Ambassador Programme and even on occasion access support in becoming qualified coaches.

But supporters can also become members – and enjoy a range of benefits from receiving a free AFC Unity wristband upon joining, getting 25% off AFC Unity merchandise, manager’s updates, player video messages, and invitation to attend and vote at Awards Night, to 20% off CFM services as well! (And who knows when you might need those!) There will be other goodies too. But the really good news is, supporter membership has been reduced from £25 to £20 for the end of the season!

All membership fees are reduced if you’re a member of a trade union as part of AFC Unity’s commitment to unity, community, and the protection of people in the workplace! (Players even get 50p off Solidarity Soccer if they flash their trade union membership card!)

So please do consider supporting us further by becoming a member – all proceeds go directly back into the organisation to help us sustain the good work we do! Contact us to join!

Written by Jane Watkinson, Co-Founder and Co-Captain of AFC Unity

It’s become a long-running joke (not that funny, I know) that this is the season where the ‘injury curse’ hit our first team. It seems nearly every week we have suffered a new injury blow. Beth broke her collar bone, Rachel pulled her hamstring, Becky injured her thigh, Steph injured her knee, Lisa twisted her ankle. I myself have just been diagnosed with a chronic ruptured ACL knee ligament.

As a club, since the start we have been very keen to involve injured players in different ways whilst they’re recovering. When injured your instinct is to isolate yourself so you don’t have to see other people doing something you want to do so much but can’t – this is especially the case with long-term injuries. But it’s really important that when you’re injured you try and not do that, as being involved in a different way still means you are part of that collective spirit, you can still learn by listening and watching at training, you can still cheer your team mates on and help with positive encouragement and you still get to develop a bond with your team mates ready for when you return. Yes, it can be painful, but strength and character can develop through pain too.

Playing football is a big part of my identity now and when you get injured it’s difficult not to feel slightly lost. I am fortunate in that co-founding the club and in having the off-the-pitch role – Secretary and a Director – I do in the club I have no choice but to keep very much involved and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It was difficult at the start but the more I have embraced this it has helped me deal with and process the injury. Jay Baker, the Manager of the first team, has got me involved with helping out in a coaching capacity with the first team, whilst I still coach at the Solidarity Soccer sessions.

We have found this has happened with other injured players too. In the first season, Olivia Murray injured her ACL for the second time whilst playing for us in a friendly against Sheffield Wednesday Development after just coming back from ACL injury. Olivia became involved as a first team coach and as the Chair of AFC Unity’s Board of Directors being absolutely fundamental to the development and growth of the organisation. Olivia has spoken about how important this was for her getting through a very understandably difficult time.

The same goes for Emily Salvin who sustained serious knee damage in Sarah Richard’s testimonial match. Emily is now recovering from her recent surgery but during her time out has been the AFC Unity Jets head coach and has been absolutely fundamental to helping create a positive vibe and ensuring a well organised set-up. Emily has also spoken about how the experience has helped the injury recovery go faster with her able to focus her passion for football in a different way. I personally have been so impressed and inspired by how Emily has coped with and responded to the process.

We also have provided Ambassador roles for 11-a-side players via the Solidarity Soccer coaching that gives players an opportunity to get involved by passing on their experience and skills. For instance, Steph Sargent has provided invaluable goalkeeper coaching at Solidarity Soccer. Becky Rayner has run coaching exercises at Solidarity Soccer whilst recovering from injury also.

We have provided injured players opportunities to get involved in non-coaching roles too, such as Eliah Ward becoming our Community Outreach volunteer whilst recovering from back surgery, which included helping with the Football for Food campaign expansion and talking at Diversity Festival.

It’s really important that players who sustain injuries are kept involved if they are wanting to. Obviously some players deal with it differently and don’t want to be in a footballing environment whilst injured, but we make sure everyone knows there is something for them whilst injured.

Us injured players even talked about setting up a 5-a-side team it was getting that silly – there has sometimes been a bench of us at games and training but taking a positive from this that also has helped knowing that others are there to pick you up when you’re having a low day and that you can help provide support to your team mates who are also injured whilst cheering those on the pitch. Myself and goalkeeper Steph have had a “knee pact” where we keep each other in check and make sure we don’t do anything we shouldn’t be doing to harm recovery! That has helped me a lot and I am really thankful to Steph for that.

It has been a very difficult season for injuries – we have lost the best goalkeeper I have ever seen in women’s football, we’ve lost players that boss the spine of the pitch and it’s definitely made things a lot harder. I honestly have never known anything like this in terms of luck whilst playing football but these things happen.

Players are returning though as the season goes on and we are aware that there is a long-term plan for the club and also the club is a lot more than what happens on a Sunday. The spirit of Unity, solidarity and empowerment happens off and on the pitch and whether you are playing or injured.

Here’s to a healthier 2017!

We received funding from Awards for All, Big Lottery Fund and Freshgate Trust to expand our Football for Food campaign, raising awareness of the extent and causes of food poverty – tackling misrepresentations and myths – which includes static incomes, rising living costs, low pay, underemployment and problems with welfare whilst collecting more food to distribute via Sheffield Food Collective to local food banks.

The events part of this extended campaign included:

*Kick-Ups in Town: 19th of June 2016, Devonshire Green, 10am-6pm – at this event we ran a pop-up stall at Devonshire Green where we had donation buckets/containers to encourage donations of food for food banks we are working with via Sheffield Food Collective, with a stall with information about the campaign (via leaflets), whilst players from our 11-a-side teams handed out fliers to members of the public and also attracted people by kicking the ball about and doing tricks and skills where possible. Players were sponsored to take part in the event by food. Through this event, we collected 133 items of food, working out at around 49 kilograms of food. The event was also covered on Sheffield Live.

*Pop-Up Quiz: 8th of July 2016, Union Street, 18-20 Union St, Sheffield S1 2JR, 6-9pm – at this event we organised a Football for Food general knowledge women’s focussed pop-up quiz where people entered to take part by bringing food to donate at the event. We also included questions regarding food poverty within the quiz to raise awareness of the issues and the reasons for why we are running the campaign. Through this event we collected 70 items of food, working out at around 28 kilograms of food.

“Shocked at how much food poverty there is in our city” – feedback from someone who attended our Pop-Up Quiz event

*Football for Food 5-a-side Tournament: 16th of July 2016, 12-4pm, The U-Mix Centre, 17 Asline Rd, Sheffield S2 4UJ – AFC Unity, AFC Unity Jets, Yorkshire St Pauli, Mount Pleasant Park FC, Roundabout Utd, Clapton Ultras, Small Ideas FC, Easton Cowgirls and Mexborough Athletic all entered to take part in this tournament by donating food rather than paying to enter with spectators encouraged to bring food to donate as well. We also had the following speakers talking at the tournament:

*Gill Furniss, Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside & Hillsborough
*Carrie Dunn, a journalist, writing about sport – primarily women’s sport – and has covered events from World Cups to the Ashes to the Olympics
*Nick Waterfield, works in and around Parson Cross in North Sheffield for the Methodist Church and is the Chair of Sheffield Church Action on Poverty
*Debbie Matthews, CEO of Manor and Castle Development Trust for 11 years and one of the founder members of the S2 Food Bank
*Steve Clark, volunteer with the Sunday Centre – a project open every Sunday afternoon for homeless and other vulnerable people – for about 12 years and is their current Chair

At this event we collected 915 items of food, working out at around 355 kilograms of food alongside a £50.00 donation for the food banks. This is more than we collected in 11 events previous to this point (excluding the Sponsored Kick-ups and Pop-Up Quiz events!).

“The link between football, socially minded football teams and social justice / food projects is potentially very powerful” – feedback from someone who attended our 5-a-side Football for Food tournament.

We also premièred 3 videos we have had made by local filmmaker Claire Watkinson for the campaign.

*11-a-side players volunteering at The Sunday Centre, 24th of July 2016 – The Sunday Centre provides a friendly shelter for homeless, isolated and vulnerable people where they can obtain refreshments and a cooked meal in the city centre on a Sunday afternoon. We volunteered to help with the serving of drinks and food to guests and chat.

In total, through the expansion we collected 1118 items of food working out to be around 432 kilograms of food!

Campaign Videos

As part of the Football for Food Campaign Expansion we had 3 videos made by local filmmaker Claire Watkinson – these videos were shown for the first time at our Football for Food 5-a-side tournament. The three films were:

1) Did You Know? Key Facts on Food Poverty:

In this video, players and personnel from AFC Unity deliver key facts regarding food poverty to the camera, with the aim of friends and family sharing this around their social media networks helping raise awareness regarding the issues. This was a key part of our campaign, as we didn’t want to only collect food donations without raising awareness of why this is happening and needed. Moving forward, we wish to challenge the growing normalisation of food bank use as this is not part of creating a long-term fair and equal society.

“I didn’t quite realise the scale of the problem, with 4 million in food poverty” – feedback from someone who attended our Pop-Up Quiz event.

2) Food Bank Case Study:

A food bank we distribute collected food to was visited – this food bank is based in Parson Cross at Mount Tabor Church. Parson Cross Initiative Share Food Bank have utilised this video to promote the work they do too.

3) We Are AFC Unity:

This video helped us as a club promote what we do, creating more awareness regarding our Football for Food campaign, highlighting how the club is an agent for social change rather than just being a football club.

Campaign Statistics

As part of the campaign, we also produced a page on our website where we added and will keep adding statistics on food poverty and the causes and reasons for this providing people with further reading and sources/evidence for the claims we have shared during the campaign (such as through our Did You Know? Key Facts on Food Poverty video).

Awards Ceremony and Launch of Expansion of Football for Food

We launched our Football for Food campaign expansion at our End of Season (2015/2016) Awards Ceremony, where we also collected around 12kg of food and 31 items. Nick Waterfield from Parson Cross food bank attended the event and talked about the importance of the campaign.

“Very surprised by the number of children in poverty in Sheffield” – feedback from someone who attended our Pop-Up Quiz event.

Football for Food 5-a-side Tournament

The Football for Food 5-a-side Tournament was the biggest event as part of the expansion campaign. We do want to build on this more however, as there is a worrying normalisation of food bank provision within the welfare system. This is a key reason for why we had speakers at the tournament that talked about community food provision, food poverty and community responses to it.

“There should be something like this in every council/village/town” – feedback from someone who attended our 5-a-side Football for Food tournament.

All teams were presented with an award at the end of the tournament by Nick Waterfield for taking part with the winners winning the “Football for Food 5-a-side Trophy”. Sheffield Live and BBC Radio Sheffield covered the tournament event too.

We had 7 volunteers that helped out on the day:

• Kate, helped with selling merchandise and counting up the food donated on the day.
• Sarah R helped with counting up the food donated on the day.
• Sarah C recorded the scores of the games, the goalscorers and updated the league tables coordinating with the referees.
• David helped with coordinating the speaker section of the event.
• Theo helped with counting up food and collecting survey and demographic information.
• Sharon helped with taking the food collected away at the end of the game.
• Nick Waterfield from Parson Cross food bank helped out by providing teams the timetable of the day and a tournament booklet when they got there and also presented the awards.

We are planning for this to be an annual event – responding to the feedback we have got from running our first ever tournament – until food banks are not required at the extent they are. We do not want food bank use to be normalised but understand how valuable they are at times like these and are encouraged to carry on given the positive feedback regarding our campaign and events run as part of this.

“Great campaign to raise awareness, collect food and have fun whilst doing it” – feedback from someone who attended our 5-a-side Football for Food tournament.
“It is an excellent initiative, as it helps on three levels: 1) Practical volunteer support 2) Donations 3 ) Raising awareness” – feedback from someone who attended our 5-a-side Football for Food tournament.

We also had a video produced documenting the Football for Food 5-a-side tournament which includes interviews with some of the speakers and players that took part in the event.

“Effective, well run and a brilliant way to raise awareness and help those relying on food banks” – player feedback regarding the campaign.

Media Coverage

The project has received considerable media coverage:

• The campaign was covered in the Now Then online magazine
• The campaign was covered by South Yorkshire Sport online
• The Sheffield Star covered the campaign online
• Our Manager spoke on BBC Radio Sheffield about the campaign
• Sheffield Live covered our City Centre kick-up events
• The campaign was covered in a print edition of the Sheffield magazine, Now Then

“It’s brilliant! It makes such a difference and it’s something nice to get involved in instead of just playing football” – player feedback regarding the campaign.

Key Campaign Achievements

• Through the expansion we collected 1118 items of food working out to be around 432 kilograms of food.
• Ran a series of events that not only collected food but also raised awareness of the campaign and why we are running the campaign as a club.
• Demonstrated the potential for football to be more than a game, and football clubs to be key agents for social change.
• Raised awareness of the scale, extent and reasons for food poverty with an emphasis on the local context.
• Changed people’s opinions on food poverty and the use of food banks, tackling myths and misconceptions e.g. on who uses food banks.
• Engaged a wide range of people across Sheffield and beyond in the events and the campaign.
• Achieved wide spread coverage for the campaign, the campaign being key to us winning awards.
• Engaged several volunteers in the campaign organisation, research and implementation, increasing confidence, skills and social networking.
• Empowered 11-a-side players as positive role models through their involvement with the campaign.
• Helped improve our promotion of the regular food collections we do at our home games, helping us produce marketing material we can utilise beyond the project to keep advertising this.
• Increased our connections with food banks in Sheffield, understanding the need more and how we can make the campaign work better from now onwards.

Long-Term Plan

We want to do more work on raising awareness of the causes of food poverty, with real life stories and the impact this has had something we will look at doing more on. We have done a lot on sharing statistics and the extent of food poverty, but we can definitely do more on producing real life stories that people can connect with that can relate to challenging the normalisation of food poverty.