Out of Africa: Young people score HLF grant to explore the history of African players in British football.

Young volunteers from Birmingham and Sandwell have scored nearly £50,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to research the impact of African players in British football since the 19th century.

The Centre Spot led project will focus on how football has raised the aspirations of young people and helped to tackle racism within the game.

The group of 14 -18 years old will try to shed light on the evolving history of African players in British football by carrying out print, photographic and film archive research at both the Premier League archive and the National Football Museum. In addition, they will interview and record the experiences of professional players, managers, coaches and fans.

The young volunteers will be trained in all aspects of delivering and managing the project, including oral history training, handling and interpreting archives, marketing, using creative media and more.

The project will culminate in the production of a documentary, a national touring exhibition and accompanying website. Further results will include materials such as ‘how to’ guides for use in schools to inspire other young people to tackle similar projects.

Manchester City player, Kolo Toure, and player at Arsenal between 2002-9; Ivory Coast international player and supporter of the ‘Kick It Out’ campaign* added his support:

“It is inspiring to see such young people take an interest in the contribution players from Africa have made to the British game. Organisations like Heritage Lottery Fund and Centre Spot play an important role in allowing young people to express themselves and the heritage we share. Football is a fantastic sport that brings people together and this marks a great opportunity to look at how African ambassadors of the game, both past and present, have played a crucial role in breaking down social and racial barriers. Thanks to the Professional Footballers’ Association for their help in making this happen”

Simone Pound, Senior Executive of the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) added:

“I am delighted that the significant contribution made by African players in the English game will be acknowledged in this way. By engaging with young people to make the documentary we are assured a vital link in the legacy which assures our history underpins everything for their future."

Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund West Midlands Anne Jenkins said:

“This is an inspired and exemplary project by these young people. This is a fantastic opportunity for them to show a full historical picture of the experiences of African football players in British football and the changes they have contributed to over the last century.“

Leading the project, Manny Abbeyquaye, Director of Centre Spot, commented: -

“This is a really important funding for the project from HLF, without which this rich heritage might be lost. These ambassadors have distinguished themselves both on and off the pitch and become role models for many young people. They have broken down cultural, racial, and social barriers whist keeping their unique cultural heritage and identify intact"

The scheme will seek to share this heritage with the wider community, promoting inter-cultural dialogue and engage interest in the cultural heritage of the players and their cultural origins.

The scheme has full support from Oral historians, the Professional Football Association (PFA) and Lets Kick Racism Out of Football, and will run till October 2012.

For more info, go to our project website www.outofafricacampaign.co.uk You can also join us on facebook, or follow us on twitter

Centre Spot coaches and volunteers travelled to Ghana to distribute football boots and equipment to over 100 young people from deprived communities in Ghana.

The trip which was made possible through fundraising was part of Centre Spot's Shoot 4 Boots 4 Africa project. The visit saw Centre Spot coaches providing coaching sessions to young children, as well as a coaching workshops for local coaches.

"This trip has been a real eye opener for me. It has also been the most rewarding bit of coaching I have ever done" - Jonathan Hunter- Barrett, Centre Spot coach.

"It is amazing that these young children have very little, but yet they just get on with life, and always with a smile. I am really looking forward to coming back again to do some more" - Sinead Scot, Centre Spot coach.

Centre Spot will like to thank all those who helped with fundraising or donated their old football boots, and we look forward to going back to do some more.

For the past year, SCVO has been supporting Centre Spot CIC through PQASSO. On 27th July we attended a celebration event to congratulate and recognise those who have succeeded. PQASSO covers the key areas of running an organisation, including governance, finance and staff/volunteer management.

There are three levels to achieve, each subsequent level requiring a higher level of achievement and evidence. SCVO Development Officer, Carole Harte explains ‘It has been such a pleasure to work alongside these groups over the past year. We’re in a competitive environment and organisations with robust systems to support effectiveness and efficiency are bound to be more attractive to potential funders and contractors.

The celebration event was attended by other participating organisations, SCVO and SMBC staff. The successful organisations were: Black Heath Live at Home, CRUSE Bereavement Care, Rights and Equality Sandwell, Wesley Centre for All, Murray Hall Community Funding Buddies is Back! Trust, FS Academy, Horsley Heath Education Project, Ileys Community Association and St. Albans Community Association

Centre Spot CIC Director Emmanuel Abbeyquaye was presented with the certificate by The Chief Executive Officer of SCVO, Mark Davis.

Centre Spot CIC a sports and physical activity provider in Sandwell organised a series of free taster sessions in Street Dance, Football, and Free Running as Part of their Gold, Silver and Bronze open event which formed part of a series of activities for the London 2012 Open Weekend supported by BP.

The events were part of a series of sporting and cultural events which took place across the UK with hundreds of thousands of people participating in events to celebrate the ‘One Year to Go’ countdown to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Over the weekend, 62 children had the opportunity to try different sports, with the most popular activity being Free Running.

“I really enjoyed the Free running, and I am looking forward to do it again” – Callum May, 13

“ We enjoyed the activities a s much as the children, and are looking forward to start weekly sessions in Non Traditional Sports” – Jonathan Hunter Centre Sport Coach.

Over the winter months Centre Spot, a social enterprise charity in Sandwell, West Midlands, invited young people aged from 6 to 16years to take part in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to design a pair of football boots that will go on general sale, as well as benefit young people in Africa.

With 391 qualifying entries received from all over the country, the winning design came from Marple Hall School in Stockport.

Olivia Wilsons stunning design was unanimously chosen by are panel of 10 judges. Olivia received her first prize of a cheque for £250, and a signed Manchester city shirt. She will also receive £150 worth of Football Equipment for her school ana a Shoot 4 Boots t shirt. The winning design will be manufactured for general sale. The proceeds from the sale of these boots will support the reconditioning of old football boots for young people in Africa.

The reconditioning of old football boots is a key part of the Shoot for Boots for Africa project that is lasting throughout 2011. Centre Spot is organising a collection of unwanted football boots, to be sent to Africa in October 2011, as well as looking for fundraising opportunities for the project.

A team of up to fifteen volunteers will distribute the equipment in Africa as part of a series of coaching programmes. These events will be especially focused in areas where people have not had the opportunity to discover the joys of playing football.

"The competition and other fund raising activities will be benefit footballers from disadvantage circumstances both in the UK and in Africa. We are grateful to everyone who took part in the competition".

Centre Spot CIC is pleased to announce that we have been awarded a StreetMark by Streetgames. The Streetmark is designed to quality assure the provision of StreetGames activity. It embeds the minimum standards for quality community sport required by the Sport Unlimited programme and some of the key elements of the Department of Health World Class Commissioning Framework.

StreetMark is the Streetgames accreditation which demonstrates that organisations have a commitment to developing sport in disadvantaged communities, and confirms that all the right policies and procedures for safety and good practice are in place. Importantly all StreetMark holders are members of the Streetgames national network of projects

Staff at a building contractors have been swapping their hard hats for shin pads to help youngsters in Blackheath to show boredom the boot.

Darren Tugwell for Wates Living Space said: "If children don’t have a safe place to play that’s close to their home it’s very easy for them to spend too much time in front of the TV or playing on their own".

"We wanted to organise something that would encourage them to do something active, and that would get kids living in the same community playing and chatting together."

Wates Living Space in partnership with Centre Spot CIC funded a free four-day football training camp for 6-12 year olds, and saw each of the 60 places filled in hours.

The camp saw the children entering various competitions including a penalty shoot out, crossbar challenge, Champions League competition, and receiving awards for individual achievements including football skills and good behaviour.

Delaeo Warrican (Age), a pupil at St. Mary’s School in Oldbury said: "I really enjoyed coming to this camp because there was lots of competition and lots of new friends. The coaches were funny, and you also get to show off your skills and impress people."

Wates Living Space is undertaking a five-year project with Sandwell Homes to upgrade social housing to the Decent Homes Standard.

In October 2011, 15 Centre Spot Coaches and Volunteers will be travelling to Ghana in Africa, to distribute football boots and equipment to disadvantage young people.

The Shoot 4 Boots for Africa campaign will be a continuation of the Shoot 4 Boots campaign. A campaign which has seen disadvantaged young people in Birmingham and Sandwell receive reconditioned football boots.

To make the Shoot 4 Boots 4 Africa campaign possible, Centre Spot CIC staff and volunteers are planning a series of exciting fundraising events throughout the year.

We are also looking for sponsorships and donations from individuals and companies, or if you feel you can help in anyway, please contact Centre Spot CIC on 07901 730844. We are also producing a quarterley newsletter which you can subscribe to by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and writing "newsletter" in the subject header.

Further information about Shoot 4 Boots 4 Africa will be posted on facebook soon.

Centre Spot are pleased to announce that Wilkinson Keeper Direct, one of the leading suppliers of specialist Goal Keeping equipment in the Midlands, have put their weight behind our Shoot 4 Boots Campaign, by adding a new twist to the campaign, collecting old goalkeeping gloves.

WKD Manager Mervin Cooper came up with the idea after being approached by Centre Spot Director Manny Abbeyquaye to help collect old football boots.

"After speaking to Manny, I realised that collecting old gloves will be a way of supporting the campaign. We told our customers about the campaign, and asked them to donate their old gloves when purchasing new ones and most of them obliged. We are really delighted about the response and the help we have offered to this good cause".

Centre Spot is celebrating securing a Government grant as part of a 'learning for pleasure' innovation spearheaded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). Centre Spot is one of over 213 winning projects.

The aim of the project will be to engage young people aged 19 – 25 from disadvantaged communities from Inner City Birmingham in a series of Arts and Craft Workshops supplemented by Sports, and complimented by Mentoring.

The intention is of getting the target group active, discovering and connecting different learning experiences so that they can help to find what interests them and deepen their passion for learning.

This grant is from the £20 million Transformation Fund, launched by Government to offer funding for to innovative informal adult learning projects in England. This brings to life The Learning Revolution, a White Paper presented to Parliament in March 2009.

The projects, many spearheaded by partnerships between public, private and third sector organisations, will help improve mental health, physical well-being, active citizenship and community cohesion, as well as providing a stepping stone towards further learning, qualifications and employment for many people.