Charlie Hyman was 16 when he realised that football could be about much more than worshipping multi-millionaire players and enslavement to expensive TV subscriptions. “I was volunteering for my younger brothers’ local park team,” he says. “And I remember seeing the real value of football was building connection.
I saw kids from all different backgrounds, some talented players, some just learning, some with disabilities, others who faced other barriers, coming together, building a sense of connection and growing as people. I think I knew from that early age that I wanted to find a way of widening that out to as many kids as possible.” Get the latest news and insight into how the Big Issue magazine is made by signing up for the Inside Big Issue newsletter In 2018, after graduating university, Hyman founded Bloomsbury Football, a youth charity that aims to offer all young people a chance to experience the life-changing power of the beautiful game.
Over the summer holidays this year, Bloomsbury has provided open-to-all daily camps with top coaches, first class facilities and healthy meals for over 5,000 kids of widely diverse abilities and backgrounds. There are fees for parents who can afford them; those who can’t are asked to contribute just £1 per day (not that anyone has ever been turned away). Image: Stacey Osborne Bloomsbury also receive support from the government and businesses keen to make a social contribution.
This model results in a melting pot environmen.