Youth worker leading free football club meets MP to discuss importance of funding ‘vital’ service

A youth worker who runs a free football club for young people across South London met with an MP last week to discuss the importance of funding “vital” services.

Sports Fun 4 All (SF4A) provides 17 weekly sessions at 13 venues in Bellingham, Brockley, Burgess Park, Catford, Crystal Palace, Downham, Deptford, Eltham, Elephant & Castle, Hither Green, Kennington, Kidbrooke and Lewisham Way.

Last week, Liam Conlon, MP for Beckenham and Penge, and Emily Robinson, chief executive of London Sport, visited one of the groups during their weekly session at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, in Crystal Palace Park.

MP Conlon said: “It was a privilege see SF4A at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. 

“Meeting with the organisers and the young people who benefit from their work, it was clear to see what a positive impact they make in our community.”

SF4A founder, Kieran Connolly, 36, from Catford, spoke to MP Conlon and Ms Robinson about the importance of funding.

He said: “People will often describe us as a football club, but what we do is much bigger than that. 

“Offering young people a safe space to exercise and socialise with friends deters them from engaging in antisocial behaviour.”

The session in Crystal Palace has been running since March 2023, and provides free access to the CPNSC 3G football pitch, a costly facility that many young people wouldn’t be able to access otherwise.

Ms Robinson said: “Community sport plays a massive role in the lives of children and young people – that’s why organisations like SF4A are so important.

“But, the biggest challenges reported by community sports clubs are around facilities access and workforce shortages, particularly in underserved communities.”

MP Conlon said he was “proud” of Labour’s election manifesto, which pledged to put money towards opportunities for young people to improve mental health, careers and education outcomes, and has organised another meeting with the team and Mr Connolly next month.

The MP said: “It’s clear to me that organisations such as SF4A play a big role in the push to improve young people’s lives. I’m looking forward to working with them and doing all I can to support them.”

Surrounded by five London boroughs, Mr Connolly described the session as “pivotal” in bridging the gap between young people from different postcodes.

He said: “The streets aren’t a safe space for young men to be hanging around and a lot of young people don’t have a place to go.

“When these kids come to play, after a few months they build trust and relationships.”

In 2016 Mr Connolly founded SF4A after he noticed an unused astroturf near his gym in Downham, Lewisham, and applied for council funding.

He started delivering two football sessions a week at Bellingham Green and Downham Leisure Centre, funded through Lewisham Assembly Funding. 

But, Mr Connolly faced many challenges with SF4A being repeatedly forced out of locations due to venues hiking their prices or pitches being privatised by universities and private schools.

By 2019, his council funding ran out. He said: “I decided to start from scratch. I registered as a charity and we got the funding.”

In April 2021, Mr Connolly made SF4A his full-time job – setting up three sessions a week across South London as well as weekend sessions.

If you would like to donate to Sports Fun 4 All – https://localgiving.org/fundraising/Sports-Fun-4-All-be203b7535

Pictured top: From left, Emily Robinson chief executive of London Sport, Kieran Connolly, Liam Conlon MP and SF4A coach Kewayne Muti (Picture: SF4A)