Club Doncaster Foundation celebrates Football Welcomes Month in April

Last month has seen the Foundation celebrate Football Welcomes Month with a range of activities for participants who regularly attend the weekly sessions at the Eco-Power Stadium.

The Football Welcomes programme encourages and supports asylum seekers and refugees to settle into their local communities through the power of football.

As one of a number of community organisations partnered up with the Football Welcomes Project, we continuously work to create a more welcoming environment through football, delivering a number of football sessions on a weekly basis for refugees and people seeking asylum.

Throughout April, football club foundations from the Premier League, English Football League, Women’s Super League, Scottish Premiership and non-league and grassroots teams across the country put on events and activities to highlight the role that football can play in creating more welcoming communities.

Participants were visited by Doncaster Rovers Belles player, Megumi Shenton earlier in April. Megumi spent her time at the session, speaking with those in attendance about her journey in football, followed by watching as the participants took part in their regular activity.

The Belles players also promoted Football Welcomes at their home fixture at the Eco-Power Stadium against FC United of Manchester, by warming up in Amnesty International t-shirts, supporting the programme.

Most recently, at the weekend, participants took part in a football match when they visited Hull City’s Football Welcomes team. An end-to-end match saw the scores level at 2-2 when the final whistle blew. They also had the opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look around the MKM Stadium, the home of Hull City, before watching the first team take on Ipswich Town in their Championship fixture. 

Lynn Goodman, “The Football Welcomes programme is a fantastic initiative. I’ve seen first hand the impact it has on everyone attending the sessions. 

“It’s not only the football, its having the social interaction with the other players and staff here at the Foundation, it’s being able to have a purpose and something to look forward to throughout the week.

“The experience the participants got from visiting Hull City recently, will create lasting memories for life.” 

For more information on the sessions available, please contact Lynn.goodman@clubdoncasterfoundation.co.uk