Chelsea Foundation Review 2020-21

REVIEW 2020/21 SEASON

Contents

Formed in 2010, the Chelsea FC Foundation brings together the Football in the Community, Education and International departments along with the club’s other charitable and community activities, including anti-discrimination projects and continued support for past players.

As one of the world’s leading football social responsibility programmes, the Chelsea FC Foundation uses the power of football and sport to motivate, educate and inspire. We believe the power of football can be harnessed to support communities and individuals both at home and abroad.

On top of our outstanding football development programmes, the Chelsea FC Foundation works on a broad range of initiatives focusing on employment, education, social deprivation, crime reduction, youth offending and much more.

04 Chairman’s foreword 06 Foundation in numbers 08 Kicks programme 10

Hyundai FC

12

Activate Seniors

14

Disability programme

16

Edge of the Box Club

18

Degree programme

20 Chelsea Champions Schools 22

No To Hate

24

Chelsea around the world

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Chairman of Chelsea FC and the Chelsea FC Foundation

BRUCE BUCK 04 | CFC

Like many organisations, the last two years have been incredibly challenging for the Chelsea FC Foundation.

The reintroduction of nationwide lockdowns and different tiering of restrictions in many of the regions we work in led to many activities moving back to online formats or adapted to include social distancing and increased hygiene measures.

The Trustees and I were incredibly proud of the Foundation as it adjusted to incorporate these challenges, providing new opportunities for participants whilst ensuring that we addressed important issues such as social isolation, wellbeing and the mental health of participants and colleagues within the Foundation and wider club.

The adaptation of online activities allowed us to expand provision and reach new individuals and groups both at home and abroad, enabling us to engage participants who may not have the opportunity to take part in face-to-face programmes. We were also delighted that club sponsors supported our programmes offering online coaching, education and exercise programmes to communities around the world.

When restrictions allowed, we established innovative small-sided coaching drills to incorporate the rule of six and class-based activities used technology to create virtual classrooms and online social events to keep participants engaged and active.

These adapted programmes were supported by players, both past and present, who joined virtual events to meet the participants and offer their encouragement and share their own experiences.

The ability of the programmes to be flexible meant that when restrictions were eased, participants remained engaged and enthusiastic - all keen to get back on the pitch or into their classrooms. Our walking footballers personified this spirit, remaining supportive of each other through regular online social sessions and fitness drills which led to record numbers of participants getting back out on the pitch when they were allowed to.

Our Say No to Antisemitism programme has continued to go from strength to strength. In November last year we hosted a conference in Vienna, ‘Football’s Role in Combatting Antisemitism’. The conference brought together those fighting antisemitism across Europe who discussed the unique role football can have in combatting hate.

The work of Say No To Antisemitism has inspired us to dedicate more resources towards our wider equality work and our No To Hate initiative is now taking the lessons learnt and applying them across a range of discrimination issues. Through the No To Hate programme, we hope to change the culture of football, celebrate Chelsea’s own multicultural history and provide new opportunities for under-represented communities.

As part of the programme we joined forces with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to bring together children in London and America to learn about equality and celebrate their diversity.

I and the Trustees of the Foundation believe we have an obligation to use the privileged standing of the club and the popularity and power of the game to make a real and long-lasting difference. It is the groups and individuals we serve that we celebrate in this latest annual review as we highlight how our work has had a positive effect on them and their communities.

We are determined to continue to use our unique position to be a positive force in society and to demonstrate to our wider communities that football is more than just a sport. Through the Foundation, we believe we are effecting positive change and in these challenging times our work is more important than ever.

Bruce Buck

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CHELSEA FC FOUNDATION IN NUMBERS 06 | CFC

806,031 overall participants

13,184 disabled participants engaged throughout the season

Chelsea FC Foundation in numbers

127,739 participants attended virtual sessions between March and June

47

staff members had previously attended a Foundation programme

125

towns and cities worked in across England

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KICKS PROGRAMME

85% of participants said their perception of the police had changed in a positive way

Tyra Mills: Staff member Our Premier League Kicks programme aims to support young people to progress into positive pathways, offering free sport provisions to 8 to 18-year-olds.

Chelsea FC Foundation sessions run in Hammersmith and Fulham, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster and Wandsworth.

All the sessions are delivered by FA Level 2 qualified coaches, many of whom have come through the Kicks programme, including Tyra Mills. Tyra has been through all of the ranks of the kicks programme 08 | CFC

- progressing from participant, to volunteer, to staff member ‘I went from participant to volunteer to sessional coach to a full-time staff member now. It’s amazing, I’ve been able to see my progress over the years and now to be able to mentor young people on their journeys, it’s so rewarding for me.

‘It’s been such an amazing experience for me, and now to be able to work with young people and have a positive impact on their lives… it’s just such a special feeling.’

Kicks Programme

60% of participants who attend Kicks don’t play sports outside of the programme

28,456 number of participants through Youth Inclusion programmes that Chelsea FC Foundation worked with

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HYUNDAI FC

Peter Boag: Coach In partnership with Hyundai FC UK, the Chelsea FC Foundation has delivered a unique coaching experience to grassroots clubs across the UK. More than 150 players joined the Hyundai FC programme with Chelsea FC Foundation coaches providing a combination of virtual coaching through the Covid-19 pandemic and physical coaching visits when it was safe to do so.

Peter Boag, coach of a grassroots team in Scotland, explained how his team have benefited from the partnership: ‘It’s been a great experience for the boys – they’ve certainly really, really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it.

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‘I think the programme is very important, for the majority of grassroots football teams, you’re probably talking about teams that are run by parents rather than coaches. So, to have the opportunity to work with coaches when they come up, to see how they put across their sessions, that benefits us as parents and us as coaches.

‘To be able to see how it’s done in the real world can only advance our knowledge of the game and how to help the boys develop.

‘It’s given me a second chance at life if you like, I was very close to checking out so I grabbed the second chance with both hands.’

Hyundai FC

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ACTIVATE SENIORS

139 walking football sessions delivered

Dave Hadley & Dave Thompson Activate Seniors is a dynamic engagement programme for over 50’s that aims to develop and enhance experiences. Activate Seniors focuses on key areas such as reducing social isolation and loneliness, improving health and wellbeing and bridging the generation gap through inter-generational schemes.

While the Covid-19 pandemic caused our programmes to go virtual, Chelsea FC Foundation were pleased to continue delivering the Activate Seniors programme online, when it was needed more than ever by its participants.

Throughout lockdown, the Foundation set up a weekly Zoom call to ensure participants weren’t socially isolated during the pandemic.

Two participants, Dave Hadley and Dave Thompson were particularly thankful for the Foundation’s delivery.

Dave Thompson has been attending sessions for almost a decade, and discusses how he enjoys the Thursday meet-ups.

‘It must be good, because I’m still here!

‘Every Thursday it’s something to look forward to.

My wife passed away and they were very helpful, very kind, thoughtful. It’s fantastic, I can’t give them enough 12 | CFC

praise. I’ve had some wonderful times. If it stopped I’d be very upset, it’s been very good for me.

‘I personally love the quizzes! It’s very exciting, having discussions, meeting people, I’m very pleased with everything. It’s excellent.’

Dave Hadley added: ‘We’re grateful that you’re still doing the Zoom, we really appreciate it. My wife died eight years ago and I must admit, coming to Chelsea it was a very difficult time. The people there did support me so I really appreciated it.’

118

reminiscence workshops delivered

Activate Seniors

158 exercise and mobility sessions delivered

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DISABILITY PROGRAMME

3

disabled participants took additional qualifications

Chiwe (pan-disability football) Chelsea FC Foundation’s disability programme enables young people and adults with any disability to participate in regular, organised football matches and coaching sessions in a safe and enjoyable environment.

Pan-disability teams for males and females of all abilities, aged from four years old to adult, enjoy professional football coaching and play in FArecognised leagues, cups and tournaments both domestically and abroad.

One young person, Chiwe, attends the pan-disability sessions. Chiwe’s father, Emmanuel, spoke about how the sessions have helped Chiwe not only physically, but socially as well.

‘The sessions improve his overall engagements with people, it’s been very beneficial for Chiwe because he’s improved his football knowledge and skills. But the best thing for him really is he’s been able to engage with his peers.

‘He has had challenges building friendships, so the Foundation have built a peer group for him in a way he 14 | CFC

can engage with people who are around his age, have similar learning skills. The best thing is the inclusivity of the programme, it gives them an opportunity to express themselves and really understand that they can do so much more than what the world has limited them to.’

5,678 number of disabled participants Chelsea FC Foundation worked with

Disability Programme

Silas Woolway (staff member) Silas was studying at St. Mary’s University when he was offered a placement to work on one of Chelsea FC Foundation’s disability programmes.

Silas explains how rewarding he found the experience, and why he is so passionate to continue working with disabled participants.

‘I remember going there on placement from St Mary’s University, that’s how I heard about this in the first place.

‘100 per cent it is rewarding. I’m starting to prefer coaching over playing football! There’s a lot of individualism in disability, probably the most amount of uniqueness is shown in disability football.

‘Going to the Chelsea FC Foundation disability course must feel like a way to forget about all their stress, their worries. They just go and have a really good time and meet new people and to gain more confidence about themselves as well. That is one of the main virtues for disability football in my opinion.

‘I think depending on what kind of disability they have, they could be facing a huge amount of problems that mainstream people wouldn’t face. When they play football they end up being in a really safe, fun and utopia-like environment.’

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staff members working on disability programmes had previously attended a Foundation project

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EDGE OF THE BOX CLUB

41%

of participants from ethnically and culturally diverse communities

Alana Williams: Participant/Entrepreneur The Edge of the Box Club supports people in our wider community start and build their own businesses, as well as creating important networking opportunities.

The programme is unique to Chelsea Football Club and takes place once every month at Stamford Bridge. The Edge of the Box Club brings together job seekers, start-ups and trading companies to network, develop their ideas and learn.

Alana Williams, who first attended the programme after starting up a new beauty business, has thanked 16 | CFC

Chelsea FC Foundation for the opportunities we have provided her.

‘I think the Edge of the Box Club is very special and unique. I’ve never had that much support from my local team, but Chelsea have been amazing. I’ve had a number of opportunities thanks to this programme.’

‘I can’t speak highly enough of the programme and of all of the staff members. They truly, truly have helped me. From the Google sessions to the general networking, it’s just such a fantastic programme and it just shows what a real community club Chelsea is.’

Edge of the Box Club

7,700 number of participants that Chelsea FC Foundation worked with

924

number of disabled participants throughout the season

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DEGREE PROGRAMME

57%

of students on the programme undertook additional coaching qualifications

Barake Seyoum: Staff member Barake Seyoum attended Chelsea FC Foundation’s Coaching and Development Degree Programme at St Mary’s University in London.

The two-year Foundation Degree provides a unique and innovative learning opportunity for students to develop coaching, football development, business and entrepreneurship skills. In collaboration with St Mary’s, students on the course have the opportunity to work on a number of different Foundation programmes.

While studying on the course, Barake worked on the Chelsea Champions programme at Fulham Cross 18 | CFC

Academy. Since graduating, Barake secured a full-time position with the Foundation working on that same programme at Fulham Cross Academy.

Speaking about his experience both on the Degree Programme and working with Chelsea Champions, Barake said: ‘It changed my outlook on life and motivated me to take my education seriously. I had a great time on my placement and when the role came up in the summer, I applied and thankfully was successful.

‘It changed my life,’ Barake added.

Degree Programme

75

students on the programme engaged in both face-to-face and online learning CFC | 19

CHELSEA CHAMPIONS SCHOOLS 20 | CFC

151

number of primary and secondary schools that Chelsea FC Foundation worked with

Deputy Headteacher: Sonia Bell Chelsea FC Foundation work with hundreds of different schools in England, delivering a variety of different educational programmes for young people to engage with.

From sports programmes to essential equality, diversity and inclusion workshops, the Foundation have partnered with schools to work with both teachers and pupils.

Sonia Bell, Assistant Headteacher at St Gabriel’s CE Primary School in west London, speaks highly of the Foundation.

‘For two years running we have had a coach come in every week working alongside all the class teachers in a team-teaching approach, and that has been great with upskilling all our teachers. The fact that it was free was an absolute bonus!

‘Just the idea that the Foundation were willing to work within our scheme of work was really helpful.

‘The impact has been really, really positive and I would say that comes to the reliability of the coaches.

The diversity programme delivered by the Foundation has really complimented what we are trying to achieve in the school, that has been a really strong impact.

‘As soon as we tell them the Foundation coaches are coming in the pupils get really, really excited.’

72,384 attended virtual sessions between March-June

Chelsea Champions Schools

97,404 number of overall participants throughout season

Chelsea Champions stats 1,023 Young people from 6

schools engaged in the Chelsea Champions Programme

106 Families engaged in family liaison provision

80% participated in a new sport which

included 54 girls attending football sessions

5,028 number of disabled participants throughout the season

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Chelsea Champion School

NO TO HATE

Federico: Student In January 2021, we launched the No To Hate campaign. At Chelsea FC, we are clear there can be no place in our game, nor our society, for racism, antisemitism or any form of discrimination.

As part of this campaign, our education team has been delivering across partner schools, with the aim of educating young people on the importance of diversity and inclusion. Throughout the year, students at schools have celebrated Chelsea’s black heroes through the This Is Us campaign, a branch of the No To Hate project.

One student, Federico, enjoyed taking part in equality sessions and showcasing his learning and understanding through discussions in class, as groups and as an individual.

‘I think it’s important we are taught about that because it’s good that we know what happens in the real world and we can help to stop it.

‘We should all respect people as we would like to be respected. The sessions showed me how important it really is.’

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Federico was also inspired in particular by Chelsea player Reece James.

‘On the internet people were calling Reece James names and judging him for his race. For the next Chelsea match he wore boots that said No Room For Racism and it showed all types of races. It really inspired me when I saw his football boots.’

59% social inclusion programmes

No To Hate

115

schools received equality education programmes

119

number of primary schools delivering several different programmes that

Chelsea FC Foundation worked with

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CHELSEA AROUND THE WORLD 24 | CFC

List of countries Chelsea FC Foundation have worked in 1.

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Spain Italy Cyprus Greece Panama Bamuda St Kitts Surinam Antigua St Vincent St Lucia Dominican Barbados Cayman Islands Jamaica Jordan Egypt Trinidad USA Canada China Hong Hong Japan

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Korea Thailand Malaysia Sabah Philiphines Indonesia Singapore Australia India Turkey Russia Belarus Iceland Finland South Africa Mexico Brazil Columbia New Zealand Qatar Kuwait Laos Miyanmar

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Ghana Nigeria Vietnam Zambia Zimbabwe Ivory Coast Ireland Haiti Chile Israel Romania Serbia Taiwan

Chelsea around the world

Finland, Iceland & Egypt were 2009/10 – the rest of the countries are since 2011 CFC | 25

www.chelseafc.com/foundation @CFCFoundation CFC | 03