Bloomsbury Football x Learn with ESS to host Blind Football Festival
There is a need for more sport provision for young visually impaired/blind people in London.
This festival aims to create a fun, safe and inclusive environment for young people to gain access to football provision.
The festival wants to create a life-long passion for sport, particularly football, and to create a longer-term impact, whilst highlighting regular provision that is taking place in the capital.
This event will bring together many different communities, organisations, young people and adults, where a network can be built, and skills can be learnt. This aligns with Bloomsbury Football’s social impact on removing barriers to participation to sport for all young people.
- 10-11am: Staff CPD (networking, mapping, overview)
- 11am-11:15am: Arrival
- 11:15-11:30: Introduction from Azeem Amir, Learn with ESS and Bloomsbury Football
- 11:30-13:45: 6x 15-minute slots – carousel of exercises (passing, dribbling, defending, shooting etc.)
- 13:45-14:00: Legacy
Azeem Amir, Founder of Learn With ESS, said: ‘I'm really excited about the festival! We did something similar in Manchester earlier this year which turned out to be very successful. Disability sport within London is still quite a new concept so events like this will not only be great for participants but also to get everybody within the blind football and disability sport space together and look at creating strategies in which we can move forward ensuring access for all!
"A lot of hard work has gone into planning the event and hopefully it will be a real success! I'm sure this will be just the start with regular provision offered to all as a legacy from the day!"
Cameron Gordon, Foundation Manager, Bloomsbury Football, added: "The festival promises to be a brilliant day for not only young people, but also staff and organisations. We hope this encourages positive discussions, change and improvement within disability football and sport in London.
"We are excited to continue our partnership with Learn with ESS. The work Azeem is doing is crucial in widening our understanding of who football is for and Learn with ESS is leading the way in tackling stigmatized issues surrounding disabilities. Azeem’s previous sessions with Bloomsbury have had a positive impact on our young people showing the importance of communication and teamwork for our young people. We hope that this festival has a similar impact on the young people that we engage on the day."
Learn more about ESS and Bloomsbury Football.