Category: News

Jose joined Street Soccer London at an uncertain time in his life and after grasping every opportunity over the last two years, he’s loving life in his dream job.

“Before coming to Street Soccer London, I was in a hostel for two years at Camberwell, Centrepoint. I wasn’t working and I wasn’t really doing anything due to the lockdowns. After a while, I luckily got a house in the area and found Street Soccer London. I was extremely grateful to secure a coaching role with SSL, which was massive for me – having no qualifications or experience.

Street Soccer kept me strong and grounded. They helped me pursue my dream career which was to become an electrician, which is going well and I love doing so much. I get to go back to the kids and let them know that they can do anything they wish to be and that alone means the world to me.”

It’s a bittersweet feeling for both Jose and his peers. By securing a new apprenticeship, he isn’t able to spend as much time at sessions, where he is extremely popular with players and staff. Although, despite his life has taken him down a new path, he is certain that football will continue to help him push boundaries.

“Football for me growing up was an escape. My parents weren’t around, so every day after school I wanted to be outside with my friends. You’re never alone in the football world and that’s what is so special. There is always someone who wants you to do well or wants you to flourish. Football has given me a place of safety and a sense of belonging. It’s given me the chance to make a lot of friends and I am who I am today due to my determination and willpower and I developed that thanks to football.”

Despite having little experience in coaching, Jose was given the opportunity to join the team at Street Soccer and hasn’t looked back since. He highlights how this was more than just a job, with strong relationships with the rest of the team developing across time.

“When I first joined the team, I was very nervous, very scared. I had to deal with kids who had maybe been through the same experiences as me, so I didn’t want to let them down. I was very excited but very nervous to start with as everything was very new to me. However, Street Soccer London were very welcoming and I fitted in perfectly.

Being part of Street Soccer London has been a great experience. The staff were always so supportive, always cheering for me. They have given me a great opportunity and made me feel so welcome. They are always saying how proud they are and I really value that, as I don’t always feel acknowledged in that way. I love being part of that team and we are all together in helping creating change.”

Jose admits that before joining Street Soccer, he struggled with confidence and would have described himself as a ‘quiet guy’. Fast forward two years and the same description does not apply.

“I knew I had to come out my shell when I got this opportunity. I got to a stage where I knew I had to open up. I had a great opportunity and I had no excuse. I needed to be someone these kids looked up. They needed someone to speak to. It was hard to build that trust with them and to be their coach, but I was determined.

Every session was my favourite for me but a highlight had to be when we visited Crystal Palace with the U16s to participate in a tournament. To be able to have the chance to lead a team there was big for me – I felt like a real coach! Our team done really well and won their tournament, so it was great to see all the kids so happy, some of them had never won a medal before. The fact I got to give some of them a nice experience was amazing.”

Jose is excited about what the future holds, with a career as an electrician lined up and a football family behind him for support, he’s in a good place. He believes that by helping young players with positive choices, more dreams can be achieved.

“I am missing being at Street Soccer but I know the kids are in great hands. Jack, Laura and Yasin are amazing with them and are so supportive. I’ll miss seeing the kids grow and seeing their smiles on the pitch.

Street Soccer has given me a dream, which has changed my world. By focusing on the small things and building up confidence, they’ve let me believe that I can change the world and I know that they are having a great impact with everyone else too.”

If you are interested in supporting Street Soccer London, please contact Laura Foster on laura@streetsoccerscotland.org.

Street Soccer London’s adult football programme has started at the Black Prince Trust in Lambeth.

The free football session, which take place every Monday from 3:00-5:00pm, is part of our wide-ranging programmes to bring the local community together through sport.

In partnership with Quay Health Solutions, our first few sessions have seen a collective mix of nationalities and cultures, where football has been the common language.

The aim of our adult programme is to support the mental health of all participating players, allowing them to connect with new people in a safe environment. Street Soccer believes that football has the power to change lives and all of our sessions are open to new players, regardless of their experience in playing football.

Programme manager Craig McManus highlighted that the lived experience of staff members at SSL will be key to progressing the programme and supporting players on their journey for positive change.

“Our new adult drop-in session is the perfect example of the support that Street Soccer can provide. Our player pathway has meant that former players Frankie and Marc have been able to lead on this session with other former players Ethan and James assisting them.

Both Marc and Frankie are able to lean on their own experience of hardships to help new players settle in to the programme. That level of trust is significant and we believe that football has a unique way of breaking down barriers.”

This session, which takes place at our base in Lambeth, is the first step for players in building the foundations for a more positive future. By engaging with Street Soccer, you can open up a wider network for support as well as being part of a caring community that will always put their players first.

If you would like to learn more on how you can engage in our adult football programme, please contact Craig on craig@streetsoccerlondon.org or Laura on laura@streetsoccerlondon.org

Street Soccer have an exciting new vacancy to lead on our new women’s only programme in Hounslow. We are looking for enthusiastic coaches who are keen to use the power of football to make positive change in the community.

Our Street45 programme aims to engage women with no previous experience of football and re-engage those who have not been able to take part by combining football, fitness and social connection activities. Our model has been run throughout Scotland, addressing low levels of female participation in mixed drop-in sessions with great success, seeing a 300% increase in participation in 2020.

Street45 aims to engage women who might be socially isolated, excluded or struggle with mental health, to create connections and networks of support. We will create a strong and supportive team within a safe environment. Sessions being women-led is key to this, not only helping keep spaces safe for women but also helping break down gender-barriers and increasing empowerment.

Our sessions will target socially excluded women over 18. Different forms of social exclusion may include homelessness, addiction, mental health issues, as well as social isolation. Our team are vastly experienced in supporting women facing these challenges, with our staff having lived experience and having managed Team England’s Women’s Team at 3 Homeless World Cups. Our focus on connection and building relationships through a person-centred, relational approach, means we can effectively tackle issues such as social isolation.

Street45 will comprise weekly 90 minutes sessions with 45 mins football and fitness ad 45 mins social connection and support. Sessions will be led by a female head coach with the support of volunteers.

We plan to create a pathway for women to further develop their football through volunteering with us and helping to run sessions, and following pathways into coaching, refereeing and volunteering. We are able to do this through our partnerships with QPR and Brentford. This will enable progression from grassroots football, with the support of Street Soccer London. It will also enable us to create our future leaders. Lived experience is central to Street Soccer and over 60% of our staff team have lived experience. We support players along a pathway through volunteering, education, sessional work and employment and would love for participants of this sessions to become leaders.

We will tackle barriers to participation for women and support individuals to overcome any social and emotional barriers they may face. We want to tackle stigma wherever we find it, in perceptions of addiction and homelessness, mental health and womens engagement in sport.

Street Soccer London has also taken on Team England for the Homeless World Cup and would work with eligibly players to progress to this opportunity. Women experiencing homelessness and social marginalisation could have the opportunity to train and connect with people with similar experiences from across the country and represent their country at an international tournament in 2022.

Interested candidates can learn more about the role by contacting Craig McManus on craig@streetsoccerlondon.org

Street Soccer London is pleased to welcome the announcement from the Homeless World Cup Foundation around the return of the competition in 2022.

This years tournament will take place in New York with Street Soccer USA. Street Soccer London’s Team England are due to take place in their first World Cup as part of the Street Soccer family.

More information around the event will be announced in due course, with venue and specific dates in September still to be decided.

We look forward to working with our amazing partners across the globe in bringing together players for a special experience.

Street Soccer London players had a memorable experience at Crystal Palace’s Academy Training Ground this past weekend, taking part in Palace for Life’s PL Kicks tournament.

Palace for Life, the clubs community arm, kindly invited Street Soccer along on Saturday as part of the Premier League’s youth initiative. Players were in awe of the brand new facilities which opened earlier this year and with category A status is one of the best in the UK.

Street Soccer entered three teams in to the tournament and won top prize in both the under 16 and under 18 age group. Programme coordinator, Jack Badu, said that the experience was important for the players.

“We had players along from both our FAST and Black Prince Trust sessions and it was a really great way to end the year for them. It’s one of the best places I have ever been too and the boys had a good time engaging with both Palace for Life and the Met Police Taskforce both on and off the pitch.”

There was memorable success for the coaches too as new sessional worker Jose, at his first event with Street Soccer, won the under 16 trophy with one of the squads.

We thank Palace for Life for their invite as we look forward to working together in the community again soon.

Street Soccer London are on the lookout for new coaches!

As we near the end of what has been a very challenging yet successful year, we are now in a position to grow our team.

We are looking to recruit:

• Adult Programme Coordinator
• Sessional Youth Coaches

If you are passion about helping others and have experience in supporting young people or adults, we’d love to hear from you.

At Street Soccer, we aim to use the power of sport to enable individuals to make more positive choices in their life. Both roles would be primarily based out of our office at the Black Prince Trust in Lambeth, however would involve work in other areas across London.

Our Adult Programme Coordinator is a brand new role with some exciting opportunities. The role will help grow our newly formed adult sessions, which are structured to give players a sense of security and belonging whilst sharing a passion for football. This role will also involve opportunities with Team England as part of the Homeless World Cup tournaments.

You can read the full job description, here.

As a sessional worker, you will work closely with a players 16 and under throughout the week. A sports coaching background is not compulsory, with an increasing focus on our support services throughout the community.

If you are interested in either roles, please contact Craig McManus at craig@streetsoccerlondon.org with your CV and a cover letter.