Strategy 2023-2028 - Bloomsbury Football

2023-2028 STRATEGY

Here’s the five-year game plan to scale our impact in London

Charlie Hyman Charlie Hyman

With the support of our founding Trustees, Daniel Austin and Mark von Herkomer, Bloomsbury Football was created in 2018. It all started with our first session at Castlehaven Community Centre in Camden Town. 4 players attended – I had a bag of cones and some footballs. We’ve come a long way since then.

Bloomsbury Football was created to ensure that all young people can access the many benefits of playing regular football. Thanks to our excellent coaches and inclusive financial assistance model, 5,000 young people across London now benefits from the physical, mental and social benefits of the beautiful game.

We are all so proud of what has been achieved so far, but we know the scale of the task that comes with supporting young Londoners to tackle the issues they are facing today. We have an ambitious goal – by the end of 2028, our goal is to be reaching 20,000 young people every week.

Read below to find out more about how we intend to do this – here’s to the next five years of Bloomsbury Football.

– Charlie Hyman

BFF TODAY: 5 YEARS IN

We support 5,000 young people aged 3-18 per week

We use football to improve mental & physical wellbeing, teach life skills and build stronger communities

Our projected turnover for 2023-24 is £3.4m. Since we were fouded in 2018, we’ve grown year on year by an average of 94%.

We have 60 full-time equivalent employees – of which 35 are full-time and 60 are part-time.

WHY WE EXIST

Young people in London are facing a growing mental and physical health crisis. This is disproportionately impacting girls and young people who are from disadvantaged backgrounds. The pandemic, the pressures of social media and an ongoing Cost of Living Crisis are exacerbating these challenges.

WHY FOOTBALL?

Bloomsbury Football is using the power of football to support young people to become happier, healthier and more resilient. Sport has multiple positive impacts on individuals and society – for example, for every £1 invested in sport for good, £6 is returned in social value.

Of Bloomsbury players say they have made new friends

Of players say they are better communicators

Of players report feeling more confident

Of players say they feel healthier

SHOLA, 13 SHOLA, 13

Shola is an active and valued member of the Bloomsbury Football community. Her autism has not held her back from getting on the pitch and improving her skills. When Shola joined Bloomsbury, she was non-verbal. The coaches and community at Bloomsbury have helped to develop her communication skills.

Shola’s father Damien says that Bloomsbury has “allowed Shola to find her place, be expressive and come out of her shell… At Bloomsbury, she has found a home”.

– SHOLA, 13

Elijah, 16 Elijah, 16

Elijah is part of Bloomsbury Football’s College programme which run at Haverstock School in Camden.

Prior to joining the College programme, Elijah’s attendance was low, and he was at risk of dropping out of school. Since joining, Elijah has received an attendance award from Haverstock and his studies have drastically improved.

His teacher said, “it’s been amazing seeing the change in Elijah from year 11 to year 12. I always knew that he loved football, but I did not expect this programme to improve his academic performance too”.

– Elijah, 16

NUESTRA TEORÍA DEL CAMBIO

Theory of Change

Bloomsbury Communities

Bloomsbury Communities are full-scale community projects that place local roots at the heart of our approach. Communities are a hyper-localised approach to football provision – they remove locations a barrier to accessing the benefits of regular football sessions.

Bloomsbury Communities are a community-led, place-based solution for high-quality, inclusive football, encouraging young people to get on the pitch and be more active.

Each Bloomsbury Community will include the full range of Bloomsbury Football programmes, from non-team sessions, Club Football, Club Futsal and Leagues.

By 2028, there will be 18 Bloomsbury Communities across London, which will be engaging 20,000 young people per week.

CLUB FOOTBALL, CLUB FUTSAL & LEAGUES

Club Football, Club Futsal and Leagues provide a tailored approach for young people who are interested in participating in competitive football and futsal, taking their engagement to the next level. This includes organising programmes in coordination with our leagues so that all young people are provided with high quality, regular competition.

Bloomsbury Ventures

Bloomsbury Ventures will deliver events and campaigns for corporate clients, provide our beneficiaries with work experience and generate an additional funding stream for the charity. This capitalises on our experience of running football events and the network of brands looking to leverage the power of football.

Special Projects

Our Special Projects team runs Disability and Refugee & Asylum Seeker projects, ensuring that our provision is accessible to all young people. These programmes are separate to the Ecosystems as they require specialist tailoring to accommodate all beneficiaries and help to share the power of football with as many young people as possible.

Innovation Unit

An internal Innovation Unit will be launched to package and share our knowledge from our growth over the past five years. We have learned a lot over the past five years, and we would like to share our expertise to impact the wider sector in which we operate. This Unit will be a space to pilot new approaches so that we can continue to innovate and iterate as we scale.

Our plan to support 20,000 young people per week by 2028 is ambitious, but we are confident that we have the plan to make it a reality. Support our work today & be a part of the change.

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2023-2028 STRATEGY