Albion stars surprise kids at inclusive American Express football festival
Six Albion first-team players treated participants to a surprise visit at the football festival
More than 120 people joined us in Lancing for an American Express festival of football celebrating inclusion and fair play.
The first ever PLAY Together Football Festival kicked off last week at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre.
Girls and boys from across Sussex arrived at the Community Pitch for a day of fun football tournaments funded by and in partnership with American Express, designed to bring people together from under-represented groups.
Six Albion stars came along and surprised the young players: Joel Veltman, Julia Zigiotti Olme, Katie Robinson and Emma Kullberg, and captains Lewis Dunk and Victoria Williams.
The Premier League and WSL stars made the football festival even more special for the kids attending. They met and posed for photos with the participants, signed shirts, and stayed to help mediate games afterwards.
Dozens of women also joined us to take part in a walking football showcase festival.
The day consisted of three mini-festivals in a “Football 3” format. Football 3 has three halves, no referee, and points are awarded for fair play, with participants deciding on their own rules before the game to ensure everybody enjoys themselves.
Led by Albion in the Community coaches and supported by American Express volunteers, the PLAY Together Football Festival was created to bring together under-represented groups and young people from targeted communities, to play in mixed gender and ability teams.
These open rules give ownership of the game to the players, allowing them to develop skills related to decision making, negotiation and compromise, with an emphasis on fair play.
Paul Brackley, Disability Manager at AITC, said: “We know that football is a hugely powerful tool to engage and inspire young people, promote diversity, equality and inclusion, and improve physical and mental health.
“Today’s event is the first in a series of football festivals being planned, designed to introduce new people to football as a sport for all, regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation, so that everyone feels welcome in football.”
Nikki Edelman, Vice President at American Express, said: “It’s been a great day and very encouraging to see young people of all ages, genders and abilities playing football together and having fun.
“What made it even more special was seeing the interaction with the club’s players.
“With the new season just around the corner we’re very grateful to the players for taking time out of their training schedules to provide support to so many of the participants, alongside our incredible volunteers.”
We have been working successfully in partnership with American Express since 2011. The Football Festival formed part of the bespoke Learn, Live, Play Together volunteer programme which combines the power of football and passion for BHAFC with the time, energy and expertise of American Express colleagues to help local communities across Sussex.