Over 150 people, including football legends Ledley King, Carlton Cole and Per Mertesacker, gathered at the Speaker’s House, Westminster, on Tuesday 12th September to celebrate a decade of work by London United, a collaborative network of 16 professional football club community organisations. Representing Fulham were Mike McSweeney, Fulham FC Foundation CEO, and Levi, one of our Foundation participants who has been involved in the Fulham Kicks programme for many years.
The event, which was presented by Olivia Buzaglo and supported by the Premier League, aimed to commemorate 10 years of collective community work – helping to tackle some of the biggest issues facing the city, with a notable focus on employability, violence reduction, and health and wellbeing – and included a pledge to keep growing partnerships to do even more in the future.
In a welcoming address, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle, praised the dedication and impact of the unique alliance, to the audience of club representatives, London borough councillors, members of parliament and notable figures who have supported or been a part of London United's mission to improve the lives of Londoners.
Fulham FC Foundation CEO Mike McSweeney spoke of the value of London United to Fulham and to London: “London United provides a platform for all 16 professional football club community organisations to collaborate, learn from each other and to jointly work together on charitable programmes, benefiting participants across all 32 London Boroughs. Whilst rivalries exist on the pitch, London United sets the example of how clubs can come together to benefit local communities. At Fulham FC Foundation, we are delighted to play our part in this pan-London approach.”
Levi, representing Fulham Kicks at the event, spoke of the occasion and the wider impact of Fulham FC Foundation on his life: “Honestly, it was a dream come true to meet and speak to some amazing football legends, including a World Cup winner (Mertesacker) in such a prestigious venue. People from my background don’t get such an opportunity, and to be picked from the whole of Fulham FC Foundation I am truly blessed. Since joining Fulham Kicks it has allowed me to be myself with no judgement. It means so much to be supported not just by my coaches and staff, but also by my peers. Working with Fulham FC Foundation has given me career ambitions to become a football coach one day and hopefully give back not just to my community, but to young players from all backgrounds who were once like me.”
Typically fierce rivals on the pitch, the clubs have harnessed the power of football to collaborate, share expertise, exchange ideas, and implement best practices since their official partnership, which was formed in 2013. Their collective aim: to address pressing issues and implement city-wide initiatives aimed at helping Londoners to thrive.
As part of the celebration, the clubs shared their annual impact, based on the 21/22 season, which consisted of working with over 240,000 Londoners, investment of more than £30m back into the city, and delivery of over 450 programmes in the capital.
The professional football club community organisations that form London United are: Arsenal, Barnet, Brentford, Charlton Athletic, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Dagenham & Redbridge, Fulham, Leyton Orient, Millwall, Queens Park Rangers, Sutton United, Tottenham Hotspur, Watford, West Ham United, and AFC Wimbledon.
Freddie Hudson, Chair of London United and Head of Arsenal in the Community, said: “It’s a 10-year celebration but a lot of this work started for us in the mid-1980s, for many of the other clubs it quickly followed, and that’s where we captured a lot of the learning: on the ground across our communities and building important partnerships. This work is tough and challenging. We couldn’t attempt to do it on our own, we need the partnerships to overcome some of the challenges that Londoners are facing.
“We are hoping that the event has shined a bit of light on the work of London United and it might stimulate some thoughts on how we can extend that collaboration and deepen it further over the next 10 years.”
Commenting on the role of football across society, Dean Russell, Member of Parliament for Watford, said: “It plays such an important role and I think the fact that the 16 football clubs have come together to work together off the pitch, obviously they’re going to be rivals on the pitch, but to work off the pitch to help communities, to inspire other people, to get involved, but ultimately to act as role models across our communities.”
