The FA, Wembley Stadium and St. George’s Park collectively announced our CSR action plan for 2023/24, titled ‘Communities Together’.
The action plan sets out a series of aspirations and objectives aimed at bringing people from communities local to both Wembley and St. George’s Park together through football, so as to bond communities and break down barriers.
‘Communities Together’ has been broken down into three key areas:
- Connect
- Support
- Inspire
Saira Mirza, The FA’s CSR Manager, said: “"In Brent and Burton, we have a special resonance as the boroughs are home to our two iconic facilities, Wembley Stadium and St. George’s Park.
"Being at the heart of these vibrant communities allows us the chance to do more and support and inspire in different ways. We want our great facilities to be accessible and welcoming to our neighbours so that we can provide memorable moments and inspirational opportunities to our communities.
"We also want to play an active part in supporting the needs of our communities, working with them to provide the educational, health and community programmes they identify as being important to them.
"So, while we inspire the nation and grow football across the country, for Brent and Burton, our strategy sees us opening our doors to the community and ensuring that we are playing our part in connecting, supporting and inspiring our local communities."
Here are some highlights:
Connecting to Burton through accessibility
We will continue to provide access to our pitches at St. George’s Park, which currently serves a number of grassroots teams and hosts over 3,000 sessions per season. Our aim is to increase the number of community engagement programmes, which include the St. George’s Park ‘Play Like The Pride’ experience. This allows local schools and community groups to take part in a fun-filled mini-England training camp. In addition, we will aim to provide 10 experiences to local SEN schools every year.
Local residents will also be provided with opportunities to attend England Training Days, alongside continuing the ‘Having A Ball’ tournament; our annual women and girls’ tournament. St. George’s Park will also play host to disability and inclusion festivals.
We will support local coaches, having signed a 10-year agreement with Burton College to provide Level 1 coaching, and bursaries for Level 2 coaching qualifications. This agreement will also grant use of St. George’s Park pitches and support individuals through job opportunities at the on-site Hilton hotel. Support for student projects will also be provided.
Supporting the local community
Funding will be delivered to Burton and beyond through the Wembley Stadium National Trust Ltd, which benefits from 1% of event-day revenue to invest in community programmes.
Partnering with the Social Change Agency, the aim is to work with more people from local communities and varied backgrounds to deliver a long-term legacy programme. However, support to the local community will also extend to supporting local projects that make a difference, with some exciting pilot initiatives to be hosted at St. George’s Park with a target to support 15 community initiatives in the Burton area.
All of this will accompany continues support of our charity partner, Alzheimer’s Society UK.
Inspire the Future Generation
Through engagement with local schools and delivering pilot schemes, we will inspire our communities in delivering unique opportunities.
Work experience, shadowing and apprenticeships for local young people at St. George’s Park will provide more opportunities for entry into work. Our aim is to also host an exchange programme, enabling residents in Burton to visit Wembley Stadium. It is intended for this programme to pilot in 2022-23 with the support of the Grenfell Foundation, who will be playing their annual Memorial Charity Match at St. George’s Park.
