Woody Welcomes Luton Town FC

We Are Back!!

We promised we would introduce the teams newly promoted to the Premier League and as The Bees are hosting Luton Town FC today, Woody and I wanted to see what the club gets up to in their local area to promote and embed inclusivity.

Luton Town or The Hatters were founded in 1885 and after finishing 3rd in the Championship last season, they secured Premier League promotion via the Play Off final against Coventry City.  Their promotion was even more impressive given they had only made it out of League Two during the 2017 / 2018 season! How Mad is that for the Hatters?

Let’s start with the Luton Town Community Trust. The Trust aims to make a positive difference throughout the local community through sport and learning.

The first thing that jumped out for Woody and I is the ‘Every Player Counts’ initiative which offers multi sports opportunities for those with a learning disability. ‘Every Player Counts’ offers three session per week for Adults and two after school sessions for children.

The sessions help to improve the health of those attending as well as offering a social environment to make friends. As an avid Brentford fan Woody knows only too well how much a football club can become like family, so we really love this project.

The Trust has partnered with Luton Council and the organisation ’Football For Peace’ to create a project which will encourage understanding and respect within the community.  The project will create over 30 Ambassadors who will organise a football tournament in May 2024 at the Kenilworth stadium.  They will also be involved in workshops tackling topics such as conflict management and team building, and they will work towards a Level 2 sports qualification. 

There is a real feeling of investing in young people for a better future… what’s not to love about that?

It was great to read about the Stadium Social Club. The club runs each Wednesday for two hours and allows those who are over 50 and lonely or vulnerable to connect with one another and share time together.

Loneliness is such a big issue with over 7 million single adult household in the UK. The Social Club brings people together to get involved in activities or just to enjoy a good old hatter - sorry natter!

Woody and I loved hearing about the Luton FC Charity of the Year. NOAH supports and cares for individuals in the community who are facing homelessness and poverty.  The charity has been operating for the last 30 years and was visited 14,000 times by people in need last year.

NOAH can provide access to a warm shower, clothing and medical care.  They also have an Outreach Team that go out in to the community and help those rough sleeping to find accommodation.

The charity requires £2 million per year to continue providing this vital work and so a high profile Premier League team like Luton is invaluable to them.

We are really looking forward to welcoming Luton to the Gtech Stadium. The last time they came was back in June 2021, when we were both in the Championship.  Our Bees took the three points that day, and who can forget the 7-0 thumping we gave The Hatters in 2019… we are sure to be grinning like a Cheshire Cat if we can repeat that performance!

Come On The Bees!

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