Bloomsbury x The Standard

We’re thrilled that two Bloomsbury Football Foundation players have been featured in The Standard!

Alexia joined Bloomsbury’s Football Academy aged 14. Now 18, she credits Bloomsbury with enabling her to pursue her dreams: “The coaches were professional, but everyone was incredibly welcoming and I found players my age who were prepared to work hard and become the best version of themselves. I learned patience and how to express myself. For the first time, I realised my dreams were possible.”

Ali, 15, is home-schooled and as a result struggled to regularly socialise. In his three seasons playing in our weekly training sessions, he’s grown in confidence and made new friends. As his father, Eyad, says: “We found football was the saviour for our son – because he was not in school, football was the only place where he could socialise, make friends and find a community.”

Bloomsbury are one of five charities backed by The Standard’s £500,000 Sporting Chance initiative, which champions sports coaching and mentoring to trasform the lives of disadvantaged Londoners.

You can read the full article on The Standard’s website.

With thanks to David Cohen, The Standard and Greenhouse Sports. Photography by John Nguyen.