Bloomsbury Football: How a grassroots charity is using the power of football to build hope
Football is the people's game that is increasingly out of reach for many of our young. Bloomsbury Football is changing, building confidence and a sense of team spirit
Charlie Hyman was 16 when he realised that football could be about much more than worshipping multi-millionaire players and enslavement to expensive TV subscriptions.
“I was volunteering for my younger brothers’ local park team,” he says. “And I remember seeing the real value of football was building connection. I saw kids from all different backgrounds, some talented players, some just learning, some with disabilities, others who faced other barriers, coming together, building a sense of connection and growing as people. I think I knew from that early age that I wanted to find a way of widening that out to as many kids as possible.”
In 2018, after graduating university, Hyman founded Bloomsbury Football, a youth charity that aims to offer all young people a chance to experience the life-changing power of the beautiful game. Over the summer holidays this year, Bloomsbury has provided open-to-all daily camps with top coaches, first class facilities and healthy meals for over 5,000 kids of widely diverse abilities and backgrounds. There are fees for parents who can afford them; those who can’t are asked to contribute just £1 per day (not that anyone has ever been turned away).
Image: Stacey Osborne
Bloomsbury also receive support from the government and businesses keen to make a social contribution. This model results in a melting pot environment: kids of all socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds come together on a daily basis.
“When I started volunteering, I’d seen how most grassroots sports are run in this country,” says Hyman. “It was very disorganised and mostly volunteer-led. It didn’t often inspire young people to want to continue to be active for the rest of their life. I also felt that the most disadvantaged kids in London were being priced out of sport. You don’t get much sport in school because you hardly have the space and the school doesn’t have the funding. And you can’t afford it outside of school because it’s hundreds of pounds for the fees then you have to buy the gear – you grow out of your boots every six months. All in all, it can cost parents a thousand pounds a year to keep their kids in a sports club.”
At Bloomsbury the coaches are professional, the kits are provided and the pitches are pro-standard astroturf. Access to these sorts of facilities used to be the preserve of the exceptionally talented few who made it into professional club academies. Now, whether you’re a boy or a girl, rich or poor, the next Jude Bellingham or just an enthusiast with not much natural talent, Bloomsbury will offer you a premium coaching experience in a welcoming environment.
“Football is an amazing leveller,” says Hyman. “But unless you break down the barrier to cost, then it quickly becomes like a lot of other things in society where you just exacerbate the gap between the haves and have nots.”
He cites numerous success stories in which he takes special pride: the family of Ukrainian refugees whose kids found friendship and security via Bloomsbury Football after moving to London. And the single father who couldn’t find appropriate childcare for his non-verbal autistic daughter. Bloomsbury introduced her to football and offered the specific support she needed to make friends and learn, allowing her dad to work fulltime over summer.
As we have seen this year, the summer holidays can be a tinder box for bored youths with too much time on their hands. Hyman suggests that Bloomsbury offers a positive alternative for kids who might be filled with the sort of “unanchored emotions” that lead to antisocial behaviour.
“There are loads of studies into how exercise can help young people with their mental health,” he says. “But also, our coaches are chosen because of their ability to support people in their emotional development. Every day these kids are learning to work harmoniously with their teammates, resolve disputes, and react in a positive way to both victories and disappointments.
“We often get situations where a child has a really difficult time at home. And they won’t tell someone at school. Football is the main environment where they feel comfortable. Their coach is the only adult role model that they really look up to and feel like they can chat to. Our job is incredibly important now, because we might be able to literally save a child’s life, or turn their life around, by providing a safe space for them to share their problems or worries. We see this part of our job as just as important as the actual football coaching.”
Sixteen-year-old Mailaka, from Camden, had barely played any football before she attended her first session with Bloomsbury four years ago. “On my first day I had to play with three other girls who were a few years younger than me, I thought I’d hate it,” she says. “But I loved the atmosphere. It was so much fun and so warm and all the facilities were amazing. I’ve got much better at playing football but I feel part of something much bigger – like we are building a family. I’ve met a much wider range of people than I would at school and we all do loads of non-football activities together as well. It really brings everyone in my community together.”
Her mum, Jo, speaks with a deep affection about what Bloomsbury Football has done for her children (her son also attends). “First of all, it allows me to work fulltime over the holidays and know they are in a safe place,” she says. “But more than that, it has done so much for them personally. At matches I am regularly shocked by the way in which coaches from other teams shout and scream at their players. It feels so intense and must put lots of kids off playing. My kids are very sensitive and wouldn’t be able to handle that. But the Bloomsbury coaches treat all their players with complete positivity and warmth.”
Image: Stacey Osborne
Bloomsbury is growing fast, with the support of some big names. Gareth Bale, Alex Scott and Claude Makélélé are just some of the ex-pros who have attended sessions to offer support and advice; and Prime Minister Kier Starmer is a long-term supporter of the charity, having lived (until recently) in the same part of north London where Hyman started the whole project.
“He’s visited a few times and seems to get the wider social benefits of what we’re doing,” says Hyman. So is he hoping that the football loving PM will put more government support behind them? “Well, it helps that we’re both Arsenal fans,” he says. “We’ll have to wait and see.”
Hyman’s goal is to establish Bloomsbury Football in 15 London boroughs and support 20,000 kids by 2028. After that, there may be a national roll out for the charity on a mission to build more than just better footballers but, perhaps, a slightly better Britain.
“If we’re to progress as a society, we need everyone to grow up with better empathy for others in their community who are different from them, says Hyman. “By removing the barrier to costs, we are creating an environment in which that can be fostered.”
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