“There’s not much to do after school, lots of girls just hang around on the estates. I love coming to play football, it’s keeps me fit and I can talk to other girls from different schools. Having the club near where I live means I’m making new friends and I’m realising people from different schools aren’t as bad as I thought they were.”
Greenhouse Bethwin FC is a community club in Peckham sat between two of London’s largest housing estates. Here, gang culture and postcode rivalries cause problems for many young people – football helps bring together different communities. Most of the coaches are former players, providing one-to-one mentoring which extends well beyond the pitch. There are no trials and players are picked on their time keeping, attitude and effort, not ability.