Proud Terriers Goes From Strength To Strength Ahead Of Huddersfield Town’s Dedicated Rainbow Laces Fixture

“I really want to help in the fight to eradicate homophobia from football,” says Ryan Mather. In 2020, we gave our platform to Ryan a life-long Huddersfield Town fan and very ‘Proud Terrier’ to tell his story in his own words. At the time Ryan was also a first-year student on the University of South Wales and EFL Trust Foundation Degree in Community Football Coaching and Development with Huddersfield Town Foundation.

Ryan has since progressed having completed his Foundation Degree earlier this year and is now in the process of completing the Top Up Degree.

Ryan explains how proud Terriers came about, “A few years back at a Huddersfield Town vs Brighton game, which was our Rainbow Laces fixture, there was homophobic chanting from the Town end to the Brighton fans. This was the most uncomfortable I have ever felt at a game and this incident left me feeling upset, angry, and so disappointed. Being made to feel like this has led to me having several panic attacks and has impacted my mental health. If I’m feeling this, then others within our community will feel the same. “

“I made it my mission ultimately to create a culture of inclusion in football and develop more of an accepting atmosphere throughout the ground and the community. My starting point was to create a real identity for the group and came up with ‘Proud Terriers’. I started with a logo and then created a Twitter page for the group. At the time I already knew someone at the Football Club and so I reached out to him to tell him about my ideas and to see how he could support us and the Club have been really supportive.”

There has also been support from Huddersfield Town Club legend, Andy Booth who has become a Proud Terriers ambassador. This has seen the initiative grow from strength to strength. Andy works within the supporter’s services and is the frontman of getting ideas off the ground from appearing in the club programme, to meeting players.

Ryan said: “He’s been a really incredible ally to us and one I will always be grateful for to have someone I looked up to growing up when he played for the club is surreal.”

This has enabled Proud Terriers to be a connecting partner with many local colleges and Huddersfield Town Women which has continued to enhance the football is for everyone messaging to a wider, diverse audience.

More so, social media has been powerful in Ryan’s upwards trajectory with his Instagram and Twitter followers doubling since their creation in 2020. Consequently, Proud Terriers now has its own merchandise available with Ryan and his team handing out laces, badges and leaflets at Huddersfield Towns dedicated Rainbow Laces fixture against Millwall on Saturday 29th October.

“I am a big Huddersfield Town fan and I have been all my life. I am an openly gay football fan and I’ve witnessed homophobia and really wanted to establish a movement to inspire a new generation of fans and create a culture in which homophobia doesn’t exist. There still is a way to go but with Proud Terriers we’ve made a great start of the journey.”

You can find out more by following Proud Terriers on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @ProudTerriers or email Ryan and the team at [email protected].

Young people with Yorkshire Cricket Foundation (YCF) help with vital project to improve environmental sustainability and to support accessibility within Cricket

A group of young NCS Changemakers with Yorkshire Cricket Foundation (YCF) are calling for cricket clubs across the Yorkshire region to embrace a new cricket kit recycling scheme, as part of the ‘Together for Sport’ initiative along with Zero Waste Leeds.

The scheme involves donating, reusing and recycling cricket kit, to help support accessibility within the game as well as improving local environmental sustainability.

The call to action follows a successful star studded ‘Cric-Kit’ launch by the two organisations in Leeds, last month. More than 350 people from the local community attended the special event, including 50 Yorkshire Cricket College Changemakers as part of YCF’s NCS programme.

The Cric-Kit scheme aims to create awareness and a culture across Yorkshire and the UK where donating, recycling and reusing sports clothing becomes a common place, to help break down barriers in community participation.

The young people at the launch event were also joined by Northern Diamond superstars Beth Langston and Steere Kalis.

Beth Langston commented:

“It’s a really good initiative – getting people from the local community down, maybe some that haven’t been involved in cricket before if the cost of the sport has been a barrier before.

“Especially nowadays with the cost of living crisis, that might put people off if they’ve not got much disposable income, but here was the opportunity to come down, grab some kit for free and then hopefully that will get more people involved in playing cricket or some other sports.

“Getting young people and adults involved in sport is really important for their health, their mental health and sport offers so much more including creating a community.”

Cricket kit can cost hundreds of pounds each year and as the cost-of-living crisis continues to increase, the option of getting some cricket kit for free means that money can be spent elsewhere for families.

Kendal James, Participation Manager for YCF, and founder of the initiative, said:

“As part of the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation within Participation, our job is to try to break down barriers and one of the biggest barriers we know in cricket is in fact the equipment.

“And added on top of this, given the current climate with inflation and how expensive things are, we wanted to rally round and find as many opportunities to showcase that we can reuse, recycle and donate kit to those in need.”

The Cric-Kit scheme also looks to have a major impact on helping the environment, as high plastic content can often be found in cricket equipment and garments, leading to damaging results for the environment, once old equipment is thrown away.

Following the successful launch, a new ‘Cric-Kit’ hub will be launched at Headingley Stadium, where spare cricket kit can be donated and reused across a number of community programmes run by YCF in Leeds.

The Foundation is also calling for cricket clubs across Yorkshire to help reduce waste, save money and breakdown barriers by joining the Cric-Kit scheme. YCF are aiming to select a handful of proactive clubs across the region who have expressed an interest in becoming a ‘Cric-Kit Hub’ early next year.

Kendal from YCF reiterates:

 “We are asking cricket clubs to be a flagship for Cric-Kit and encourage members of the club to donate any unused recycled kit, and also create awareness locally that if people have any unused kit, they are welcoming donations that future members who join the club can access if they need to.”

Young teens from Huddersfield celebrate a special graduation night

Huddersfield Town Foundation recently celebrated the success of 188 young people, recognising their participation in NCS over the summer in a special NCS graduation event at Dewsbury Town Hall last week.

The Foundation was joined by the Mayor and Mayoress of Kirklees, Cllr. Masood Ahmed and his daughter Iram. Masood, who is an NCS Ambassador, spoke passionately about the impact of the programme in communities, before handing out certificates to the NCS graduates.

NCS is the ultimate experience for young people aged 16-17, where they are given the opportunity to make new friends, develop new skills, launch meaningful projects in the community and create new memories.

The graduation night was an opportunity for all the young people to be back together to catch up and celebrate their achievements from the summer, in front of a high-profile audience.

Over the course of the summer, Huddersfield Town Foundation ran four programmes, containing a total of 188 young people. Within each programme, the young people took part in a five-day residential course followed by a second week where they completed a social action project in north Kirklees.

Recognising the impact the young people have had on themselves and their community, The Mayor of Kirklees, Councillor Masood Ahmed said the following:

“As Mayor, it is incredible to hear that nearly 200 students from our borough have graduated from the National Citizen programme over the summer. I know a lot of projects in Kirklees have benefitted from the work the students have done and because of that those groups will be able to support their communities even more.

“I would like to thank the NCS, the Huddersfield Town Foundation, community partners and the young people for coming together for the programme.

“This is a shining example of what can be achieved when we all work together, and everyone involved should be incredibly proud of the difference they have made to our borough.”

Click here to find out more about NCS.

Trust opens new eco Family Zone

Families and staff celebrated the opening of Burton Albion Community Trust’s first eco Family Zone.

Taking place before Burton Albion’s recent home game against Forest Green Rovers, the area was awash with green endeavours as they hosted several family fun activities with an environmental focus.

The special event, held at the Burton Albion Community Football Centre, was at the end of the Great Big Green Week, the UK’s biggest ever celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature.

Katie Johnson, School Sport Manager at Burton Albion Community Trust said:

“As we all know, now more than ever we have to look after the environment.

“We hope our eco Family Zone is the start of something big. Doing something no matter how big or small will go some way to help to save our environment.”

Among the activities and offer on the day were the regular family zone activities, such as football, archery and inflatable fun.

In addition, the Trust launched a Planet League Competition, a football-themed climate action tournament, and urged attendees to take part in a Layering Up challenge and bring their old football boots along because the site will become a Utilita Football Rebooted drop off point, to ensure they are rehomed and don’t end up in landfill.

Trust staff also promoted smart meters, as part of the EFL partnership with Smart Energy GB, the not-for-profit campaign helping everyone in Britain understand the importance of smart meters and their benefits to people and the environment.

Waste savvy staff were also on hand with some fun and games to show participants what waste can be disposed of where from their home and in the local community, and their Pedal To The Pitch initiative, where fans can chain their bikes up for free at the ground while fans enjoy the match.

The Family Zone takes place at the Burton Albion Community Football Centre every home matchday and commences 90 minutes before kick-off.

The EFL Trust Conference 2022

Monday 17 October marked the start of the 2022 EFL Trust Conference, as representatives from EFL Clubs and Club Community Organisations came together to celebrate their collective work across the country.

EFL Trust supports Lifebuoy’s mission to help youngsters on Global Handwashing Day

Each year on 15th October, 200 million people worldwide celebrate Global Handwashing Day.

We’d urge you to join Lifebuoy’s mission to educate five million children on the importance of hand hygiene by 2025!

Teaching our children why handwashing matters is vital.

Lifebuoy, Official Hygiene Partner of the EFL, set up a kids hand hygiene programme called ‘Soaper Heroes’ which has been put in place to improve kids hand washing behaviours.

The aim of the programme is to help kids, and those around them stay healthy. If we can keep them away from having sick days from nasty germs, we can have them out playing sport and there is where you can help! Lots of clubs and kids are already taking part in the programme, utilising the engaging and educational football activities in their everyday training sessions.

Good hand hygiene doesn’t need to be difficult!

By downloading the Lifebuoy Soaper Heroes programme, you will also receive the following:

  • A welcome letter from EFL’s Soaper Heroes Ambassadors
  • An overview of Lifebuoy’s Soaper Heroes Programme
  • Soaper Heroes warm up activity
  • Soaper Heroes clean up activity
  • Educational Hygiene Posters for your club
  • Soaper Heroes certificates

Search Soaper Heroes to find out more or visit https://www.lifebuoy.co.uk/soaper-heroes-for-schools.html

Download your Soaper Heroes pack by clicking here.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Paul Greenwood/Shutterstock (13026137ba)
Bela Shah visits children in St Oswalds Primary school to join in a Lifebuoys Soaperheros session in Wigan

Burton Albion FC have been making a difference in the community, as they become a base for Prostate Cancer Screening

Burton Albion FC have been continuing in their mission to support the health & wellbeing of their community, as the club recently rolled out a fully booked prostate cancer screening for 60 men, at the Pirelli Stadium.

The screenings were done by Miss Jyoti Shah, Macmillan Consultant Urological surgeon and sister Sarah Mills, Macmillan Urology advanced practitioner. They have offered screenings in the community since 2016 and this is the second time they’ve visited the club this year.

Prostate cancer is currently the highest cancer in males. The risk of prostate cancer increases with age, with more than 52,000 men being diagnosed with prostate cancer every year and every 45 minutes one man dies from it, equalling to 12,000 men every year.

Recognising this, Burton Albion have been determined in their fight for men to visit the Pirelli Stadium, to get tested and to potentially save lives.

John, a local man who came for his check-up was pleased with his experience at the Pirelli. He said:

“I’m in my 80s now and I’ve noticed a few changes in my body and thought I should get checked up. Jyoti and the team were so welcoming and made the whole check-up very pleasant.”

Jyoti reinforced the message that getting checked is vitally important, as diagnosing prostate cancer late makes it a lot harder to treat.

“We always love coming to Burton Albion and it’s brilliant to be able to come here on a frequent basis.

“We put the call out for people to get checked a few weeks ago and we were full to the brim today. It’s brilliant to see so many people getting checked up. The checks only take a few minutes and getting it diagnosed early makes it a lot more treatable.”

Burton Albion Chairman Ben Robinson said the following:

“The partnership we have with Jyoti and her team is a vital one. Burton Albion has always put its community first and this is another example of that.

“Using the football club as a base for the screenings has made people feel a lot more confident when coming for their checks and we are delighted to provide the facilities at the stadium for this important service.”

Burton have been no stranger in using the facilities at the Pirelli Stadium to combat life-threatening health problems. Burton have now carried out over 400,000 Covid-19 vaccination jabs, a mission they set out upon back in 2020 at the height of the pandemic.

Click here to read more about Burton Albion’s efforts during the pandemic.

Community Rail Awards recognise young people’s campaign

Young people from Bradford have received recognition from the Community Rail Awards for their campaign on unwanted sexual behaviour on trains.  Read more