L2L Refugee Week Football Match!

 Learn 2 Live (Blue) and Northampton XI (Red) Football Teams (Photography by Andy Barr)

On Saturday 3rd July our football team (Learn 2 Live) played against Northampton XI at Spencer Community Trust FC. Both teams played fantastically throughout and the day was enjoyed by both players, and spectators. The final result was 3:2 to the opposition. After the match all players shook hands and enjoyed a socially distanced BBQ provided by Spencer FC. Pictured below are the two teams.

Our football club first began in December of 2019 and understandably suffered a decline throughout COVID. As the lockdown eases we are really grateful to see the club regaining members. The L2L team are coached weekly at Northampton University by Tom Sherratt from Northampton Town FC. This was the first time our team has played together against another team. The L2L players, led by their team captain Razip Kanaj, were able to really showcase their talent, hard work and skills. Iseyas Mehari and Fernando Brahna scored a goal each for the L2L team! While the goal scorers of the opposition were Simon Nightingale, Neil Leggatt and Paddy Shanahan (Pen).

Learn 2 Live Football Team (Photography by Andy Barr)

Danielle Stone, the secretary of NToS described: “I was a spectator at this match. First let me say a big thank you to the organisers, Ciaran, Tash, Anna. To the coach Tom. And to Spencer Community Trust for hosting the match. Thank you too to our opponents. You played a determined game! I was delighted by the level of skill I saw from our youth. A truly amazing Goalie! Our forwards out ran every one and were so amazing with the ball. The back line were formidable too! For a first try out as a team it was a brilliant effort. I am very proud of the L2L team.”

Ciaran Dowling, NToS volunteer and the lead event organiser commented “It was really nice after weeks of training to be able to see the boys apply their skills in a game which they dominated for large periods. Although disappointed with the result, it was great to see them playing with a smile on their face throughout and hopefully this is a start point for the team to move on to greater things. It was also fantastic to hear the spectators saying they enjoyed the game and I know the boys enjoyed being able to play and showcase their skills in front of the socially-distanced crowd.”

Pel Ahmed, STAR and NToS volunteer shared the following: “The Football match day was the day we were all waiting for, it was an exciting and thrilling day full of energy! My only aim was to shout as loud as I could to cheer everyone on and show my support, the atmosphere was so lively and seeing the younger people playing the sport that they love made the day even better. Despite them not winning, everybody was still in very high spirits and I was very proud of them! It was an extremely fun day and I can’t wait to do it again.”

Tash Murphy, Youth Worker for Northampton Town of Sanctuary observed ‘how you can really feel the team spirit and group working together’ as the footballers communicated and encouraged each other throughout the match.The young people are incredibly proud and looking forward to getting back to training at the university and preparing for future matches!