In January we launched a new session with the aim of helping refugees living in Hyndburn and giving them the opportunity get active by playing football on a weekly basis.

Funding for the project has come via Active Lancashire’s Together Fund. This has allowed us to commit to running the session for 12 months. We run a junior session and an adult session side by side at Stanley Sports Hub which provides a safe and fun environment to come and get active.

We have been working in partnership with the local Calico Resettlement Team who are supporting refugees and asylum seekers on a daily basis. Shaheen Akhtar, Integration Caseworker for Calico explains ‘we are excited to be working in partnership with Accrington Stanley Community Trust, the session has already proved to be very popular and it’s great to see the people we support getting active and back into playing football’

Lee Walsh, Head of Sport & health at Accrington Stanley Community Trust is pleased with the way the project is going so far ‘We were very surprised with the numbers the session attracted in each first week. We planned for 5 a side and ended up with 35 players! This shows the session is needed. We are now a few weeks into the project and its great we have been able to get the participants into regular physical activity in a community setting’. 

We hope this session will not only increase the participants physical  and mental health but will also help the participants become more confident within society and create a sense of belonging within the area of Hyndburn. It will also give the participants the opportunity to hear about other things they can get involved with in the local area and gain support from other organisations where appropriate. Since it’s launch in January we have engaged with 34 refugees from Syria & Afghanistan.

For more information about the project please call 01254 475013 or email info@stanleytrust.co.uk