Over 150 people, including football legends Ledley King (above,second left), Carlton Cole (above, extreme right) and Per Mertesacker, gathered at the Speaker’s House, Westminster, last night to celebrate a decade of work by London United, a collaborative network of 16 professional football club Community Organisations, including Sutton United.
The event, which was presented by Olivia Buzaglo and supported by the Premier League, aimed to commemorate 10 years of collective community work – helping to tackle some of the biggest issues facing the city with a notable focus on employability, violence reduction and health and wellbeing – and included a pledge to keep growing partnerships to do even more in the future.
In a welcoming address, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle, praised the dedication and impact of the unique alliance, to the audience of club representatives, London borough councillors, members of parliament and notable figures who have supported or been a part of London United's mission to improve the lives of Londoners.
Panellists included individuals whose lives have been changed through the clubs’ endeavours as well as Tottenham Hotspur Ambassador Ledley King, West Ham United Ambassador Carlton Cole, the Director of the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit, Lib Peck, and Regional Director for London’s National Health Service, Caroline Clarke.
Bobby Childs, the Head of the Sutton United Foundation, represented Sutton United, along with Adam Foulkes-Fenner, one of our Community Team.
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London United is formed of the 16 London based Professional Football Club Community
Organisations (CCOs), associated with the Premier League, English Football League and National League. The CCOs come together to share knowledge and best practice, work with London-wide organisations to understand how football clubs and sport can help to address prevalent issues and deliver city-wide programmes to improve Londoners’ lives.
The professional football club Community Organisations that form London United are: Arsenal F.C., Barnet F.C., Brentford F.C., Charlton Athletic F.C., Chelsea F.C., Crystal Palace F.C., Dagenham and Redbridge F.C., Fulham F.C., Leyton Orient F.C., Millwall F.C., Queens Park Rangers F.C., Sutton United F.C., Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Watford F.C., West Ham United F.C., and AFC Wimbledon.
