Lambeth Tigers find a permanent home – with co-founder David Marriott admitting his late brother has been a driving force

After 15 years of searching, knockbacks and frustration, Lambeth Tigers finally have their own home ground.

The Griffin Sports Ground in Dulwich Village will not only become the club’s first permanent residency, but the multi-purpose ground will also play host to Dulwich Cricket Club’s women’s and girls’ teams.

It is part of a 30-year lease for the ground with the Dulwich Estate.

The London Youth Sports Trust, a new charity set up by Lambeth Tigers and Dulwich Cricket Club, will take over the management and lease of the Griffin later this year, and the organisation will invest in improving its pitches and facilities.

Lambeth Tigers’ co-founder David Marriott describes his emotions at finally acquiring the home ground as “mixed.”

He told the South London Press: “As much as I am over the moon that we have finally secured our own stadium, we have been used to so much disappointment in the past that it has taken a while to set in – I am still getting my head around it.

“But for the community, it’s fantastic. My main objective, and why I have dedicated so much time towards Lambeth Tigers, is giving back to the community. We’re so proud to be giving the youth of our local area better facilities and opportunities for them to be better human beings.”

The club was left to Marriott when Christopher Butler, who founded them in 1995, passed away in 2001 due to cancer.

“It was a massive challenge for me,” said Marriott. “I was so young, and I had no previous experience. But, thankfully, I had the support of Jamahl Jarrett – one of my players at the time – and we put our heads together and decided to just go for it.

“We sacrificed a lot. It was all about giving back to the local community.”

The reason why Marriott threw himself into the Lambeth Tigers project, dedicating countless hours to helping youngsters in the local community, began one fateful morning on June 9, 2004.

Adrian Marriott was just 21 years old when he was shot multiple times from close range in Brixton at around 6am. He was an accountancy student who had fallen in with the wrong crowd and became involved with gang crime. Nobody has ever been charged with his murder.

“It was so difficult for me at that time,” said David. “There were so many emotions running through my head – anger the main one.

“I had to transfer that energy from revenge into something positive. I needed to find how to create a solution to prevent this from happening with the youngsters of our local area.

“There are never times when I’m not thinking about my brother. We were so close growing up. We would share a bunk bed in a little room. He was football mad. In my opinion, he was one of the best players in the community for his age. If he had a Lambeth Tigers at that time, it could have been a different scenario.

“That’s why building this foundation with Lambeth Tigers, and having a home we can call our own, is so important for people who could have gone down the same route as my brother.”

Adrian Marriott grew up on the Angel Town estate. The Arsenal fan idolised Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira during his late teens.

“All we ever did growing up was play football,” said David, who supports Liverpool and would often have to take the flak from his younger brother, with the Gunners dominating the Premier League at the time.

“Football’s all we had. Once our schoolwork was done, we played from 10 in the morning until eight in the evening. Football was our life. He was way more skilful than me. Even though I was the older brother, he was the more talented one. It was always challenging to play against him, but it will always be a beautiful memory.

“I still find it difficult to comprehend today,” admits Marriot. “But when Lambeth Tigers would constantly get knocked back when we were looking for facilities, I would just think of him and ask myself, ‘Would Adrian want me to give up?’ And the answer is always no, he would have never wanted me to stop.

“I don’t want to see another parent cry. I don’t want to see another brother or sister cry. How can we prevent this from happening? The only thing I knew that really worked for me was football – it was a way to get away from everything. When I decided to take on Lambeth Tigers, it felt as if it was my mission on earth and I needed to run with it – I haven’t looked back since.”

The pair of Marriott and Jarrett – Manchester United’s lead scout for the South of England – are held in high esteem for their work in the Lambeth community.

Camberwell-born Jadon Sancho, who recently made the £73million switch to United, recognised the dedication of Marriott and Jarrett to the South London area by teaming up with Nike and donating a seven-a side pitch to the club in 2019.

“Sancho has been amazing with us,” says Marriott. “Being a South Londoner is all about resilience. When you’re coming from certain communities, it’s so, so hard. There are so many distractions that could ruin you. If you have that resilience, that you might have used to keep yourself away from the streets, you can transfer that on to the pitch – it’s a way to express yourself.

“Your typical South London boy is brave, fearless and they’re not afraid to show what they can do – there must be something in the water.”

Despite having to hold training sessions in youth centres, sporadically jumping from one ground to another and battling the lack of facilities in the South London area, Lambeth Tigers have still produced close to 100 youngsters for professional academies in the past five years.

There is a flourishing long list of talent – like Watford new boy Kwadwo Baah and AFC Wimbledon forward Zach Robinson – who Marriott and Jarrett have developed since they reformed the Tigers in 2010.

Marriott, who is also head of pre-academy recruitment at Crystal Palace, adds that while he feels “immense pride” at seeing his Lambeth Tigers players succeed in the professional game, the most important aspect for him is that the players are still in contact with him after leaving the club.

“Usually, when a boy is signed, and once they get what they want, you never see them again,” he said. “But that’s different with our Lambeth boys. They have always supported us. Lambeth was a major part of their development and their life. It means a lot. Fingers crossed, we can watch them playing in the Premier League one day. “

While they take pride in what they have achieved in the past, Marriott and Jarrett are focused on the present and future. They will be running a scholarship programme for children whose parents may not be able to afford the membership fees that come with joining football teams.

And for their summer holiday football camps, inspired by Marcus Rashford and alongside Lambeth Council, they are offering 40 free places every day of the holiday, including lunch, for children who qualify for free school meals.

With a permanent home secured, Marriott has big plans for his team.

“One thing I am keen to push, once we’re settled into our new home, is education. We want to get the boys on referee courses and get them working on their level one and two coaching badges.

“It’s something we want to sit down with the FA about and come up with a solution for these courses to take place at the ground. With the club progressing, we also want to help single parents in the community with the jobs that will become available as we move forward.”

You can donate to Lambeth Tigers’ new home here www.crowdfunder.co.uk/home4tigers