Hendon FC in the community

Greensnet Editor
Sun 28 Aug 2016, 19:53

Hendon has been a fans owned and run football club since 2008 when we lost our home to developers and we have lived a nomadic life ever since, having been based at Wembley FC and then Harrow Borough FC, as well as playing odd matches around Middlesex.

We’re finally home, our new life starts here at Silver Jubilee Park, 2 miles from Claremont Road which had been our home for 80 years.

In addition to our focus on the senior football team, it has always been the aim and objective of the Supporters Trust Board to strengthen the bonds between Hendon FC and the community we serve and to promote and develop the game of football within that community irrespective of age, ability, disability, sex or ethnic origin.

We aim to promote the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, keeping fit in body and mind through sport, and to that end we now run 19 youth teams from ages 6 to 18 with the opportunity for those with potential to progress to the first team. We are proud to say that 5 young players have already played in the first team.

We don’t want to stop there, the club in conjunction with Kingsbury Town Management Company Ltd also runs a number of sporting and recreational activities for members of the local community here at SJP, these include the Ryan Lavelle school of Irish dancing, CAD Brent (our dementia charity partner), Fitness classes and childrens’ half term and summer soccer schools.

In addition we have hosted schools football matches and tournaments for 12 local secondary schools which don’t have their own facilities, Brent and Middlesex County schools football finals as well as 3 sports days for nearby primary schools.

The Soccer Chance Academy is based here for students of various ages to enjoy sport while learning new skills to enable them to reach their potential, and to gain a BTech qualification in sport when they complete their course.

We have come a long way in a short time but we want to do so much more with the local community and to that end we are working on projects with a number of Brent primary schools to encourage their pupils and families to take some form of regular exercise and to eat a healthy diet to improve lifestyle, combat obesity and heart problems .

We hope to work with the Central & North West London NHS Foundation Trust and their users in a scheme focused on physical and mental health as well as social wellbeing and we have recently been speaking to another dementia charity with links to the Irish in Britain to use SJP as a base to socialize, make friends and to take part in regular sporting activities.

This is only the start of our ambitious plans to establish ourselves in our new home, to be a good neighbor and to achieve and exceed the Trust Board aims and objectives.

In the next few months we hope to have a ladies and a disability football team representing Hendon FC as well as regular walking football matches for our local community as well as our own supporters, as a great way of taking regular exercise and to socialize with friends old and new.

All of these things rely on funding to make them happen and we have submitted a number of grant applications which will enable us to quickly put our plans into practice, if successful.

We have great facilities here at SJP with a new G3 all weather football pitch, a large function hall, and sports equipment to provide a range of activities. All of this has been possible thanks to the support and assistance of Rob Morris, Tom Stockman and the staff at SJP which will make this a success , to grow Hendon FC and to strengthen our ties within the London Borough of Brent.