Matt Everett, CEO of Oxford United in the Community, delivers his festive message
Saturday, May 18, will be the standout day for Oxford United fans this year.
It marked an on-field high as more than 30,000 U’s fans, including myself, my family and friends, travelled to Wembley to see the club win promotion back into the second tier.
Amongst the 30,000 were participants from our programmes, who would not otherwise have had the chance to visit Wembley and support the team.
While the buzz of promotion at the home of English football is seemingly impossible to better, experiences of participants on our community projects and programmes both that day and across the year have matched – and even eclipsed – feelings we shared at Wembley.
To me, this underlines the true power and social value of football and is exactly why I’m proud to lead a great team of staff as Oxford United in the Community CEO.
By working closely with the football club, it is our responsibility to provide people of all ages and backgrounds living in our communities with positive connections to the U’s badge. This is achieved through projects which focus on enhancing people’s health and wellbeing, social inclusion, education and experiences.
In a nutshell we want to provide better opportunities, create stronger communities and positive futures. Reflecting on 2024, the three outcomes we aspire to achieve across all our work were evident across the board.
One of the highlights has been watching our inclusion football team grow in confidence on and off the pitch. The squad has played several fixtures and rubbed shoulders with the first team by presenting Player of the Month awards and being treated to tours of the club’s training headquarters – memories which will last a lifetime.
But more importantly, participants reported the programme increased their confidence, physical and mental wellbeing, and gave them an opportunity that would not otherwise have been possible.
Another key celebration point was a visit to St George’s Park in July where female participants from our Blackbird Leys Premier League Kicks programme qualified for the national Premier League Kicks Cup final.
Funded by the Premier League Charitable Fund, Premier League Kicks is now delivered in four locations across Oxfordshire (Oxford, Banbury, Abingdon and Witney) and inspires young people to reach their full potential.
That isn’t the only programme to expand this year. Our Premier League Primary Stars delivery supports participants in four primary schools, and we’ve introduced Manor Club Replay at Kidlington Youth FC – a recorded alternative to the Manor Club for the Over 50s which provides a monthly social outlet to United fans as part of our work to reduce feelings of loneliness.
Oxford Phoenix – our refugee football team delivered in partnership with Asylum Welcome, Refugee Resource and Oxfordshire FA – has also integrated 11 of its players into local Oxfordshire Senior League squads.
Our Girls Only Holiday Camps have attracted record numbers. Partnerships have been formed with the Joey Beauchamp Foundation, Her Game Too, Kellogg’s and Thames Valley Police to strengthen all arms of our delivery and impact.
Most significant of all, our work is underpinned by the support of the football club through the agreement of an enhanced Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which was signed earlier this year and re-confirms a joint commitment to maximising our community impact across Oxfordshire.
It’s been a year of excellent progress towards achieving the outcomes we aspire to with further plans to ramp up our fundraising – and impact – planned for 2025.
Matt Everett, Oxford United in the Community CEO.