We run free football sessions for kids – but the impact of our work goes well beyond the pitch

At a time when we are being bombarded in the news with the dire state of the country’s finances and headlines that include astronomical figures like a ‘£20bn black hole’, calling for more funding can feel pointless. However, when you’re a relatively small, independent charity like ours, even just a tiny boost to the coffers can radically transform the impact you can have.

My name is Kieran Connolly, and I am the founder and chief executive of Sports Fun 4 All, a charity based in South London that provides 17 free weekly football sessions for 10 to 19-year-olds at 13 venues in five London boroughs: Bromley, Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark. 

I started the charity in 2016, and we have grown massively in the last couple of years, going from providing three weekly sessions in 2022 to 17 as of September 2024. We are the largest provider of free football in London, delivering more than any of the professional football club community schemes, and cater to around 300 to 400 young people every week.

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Despite our growth and impact, we don’t get a penny from any local councils where we deliver our free weekly sessions and rely solely on applications for funding from trusts and foundations. 

It can feel frustrating given that if we were granted just £12,000 from a local council, this would cover all the running costs for one venue for the whole of 2025 and allow us to provide an additional 200 hours of free football coaching that engages up to 200 young people. 

Many people might look at what we do and say, it’s just football, so what? But the impact of our work goes well beyond the pitches the kids play on.

Ronaldinho is quoted as once saying: “I learned all about life with a ball at my feet.” While it might seem cliché on the face of it, I think it speaks to the power of sport as a vehicle for much broader lessons and development beyond learning how to control a ball or curl a free kick into the top corner of the net.

Football is just the vehicle we use to engage young people. The real impact can be seen in the skills and lessons they learn through play. I’ve seen young people grow in confidence, build resilience, improve communication skills, and be inspired by the coaches they work with – all of which are local people who come from the same backgrounds they do. We also regularly work with the police youth engagement teams to help improve community relations with the police.

It’s not just the young people that benefit either. The coaches do, too. One of our stand-out success stories is Elias Fazli, our head coach. Originally from Denmark and the son of Afghani parents, he came to London at 10 and had a steep learning curve while adjusting to the UK.

Elias had been aware of the programme through his little brother and approached me and asked if he could begin his coaching journey with us by volunteering to help in Downham, in south-east London.

Aged just 16 at the time, Elias was initially quite nervous, and his coaching reflected this, but he soon grew in confidence and proficiency and is now a paid staff member and Lead Coach at our Downham and Deptford sessions.

Elias is now in his second year of sports management at Westminster University as he looks to take his coaching career to new heights, and I couldn’t be prouder of the role Sports Fun 4 All has played on his journey.

He saw the programme’s positive impact on his local community and wanted to get involved. Now, that same programme has given him confidence and a new network of friends and mentors and ultimately inspired him on a career path in which I have no doubt he will excel.

So, forgive me for begrudging our lack of local funding or asking for donations. It’s not that I’m not aware of the many financial issues that plague government, regional and national, as well as people up and down the country. However, I am deeply passionate about the work we do. At a time when community relations are strained and young people feel increasingly apathetic to the state of affairs, I think our work is needed now more than ever.

For more information about the work of Sports Fun 4 All, including how you can get involved, please visit our website. If you’d like to support the work we do, please consider donating by heading to our local giving page here.

Kieran Connolly is the founder and CEO at Sports Fun 4 All.

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