Eddie Nketiah gets a closer look at Get Involved, our South Asian football programme
Palace Forward Eddie Nketiah spent time with young players at one of our Get Involved sessions, seeing first-hand how the programme is creating more opportunities for South Asian communities in South London.
Crystal Palace’s Number 9 Eddie Nketiah paid a visit to one of our Get Involved sessions held in Thornton Heath to look at what happens every week, from coaching on the pitch, to the sense of belonging that keeps players coming back every week.
Eddie met lead coach Akram, whose journey with the programme started as participant, then volunteer and now paid coach. Akram took Eddie around each age group, showing him how the sessions are run and what they mean to the young people involved.
“To have these sorts of facilities and this level of coaches – every time has two coaches at least. It’s top.’ Eddie said.
Eddie Nketiah was shown around the session by lead coach Akram Uddin
The Get Involved programme, proudly supported by the Premier League and Professional Footballers Association, began as a way of getting more South Londoners from South Asian and Muslim backgrounds playing football, as they have historically been underrepresented in the game.
Since the programme’s launch, it’s grown and takes place two sites in South London four days a week, which gives more young South Londoners regular access to football in a welcoming and inclusive environment and brings that same community together off the pitch too, with 150 people joining us for our 2026 Iftar at Selhurst Park in March this year.
‘What they’re doing is amazing, I think they don’t get championed enough I think especially in the community. This is definitely something I want to try and bring more awareness to – creating an environment where kids can improve their skills but also just feel safe and happy.’ Nketiah said.
Through the programme, we aim to improve social cohesion and integration with the wider community by working alongside other Palace for Life programmes. Alongside the football, sessions are about building confidence, trust and creating opportunities, with pathways into qualifications, volunteering and even paid roles within the game.
‘We live in an area where it’s so diverse, a lot of different cultures. It’s just about accepting one another and learning from each other, because at the end of the day that’s what life is about.’
Towards the end of the session, Eddie had a surprise for some of our young players.
‘We’ve set up a delivery for some boots for you guys, hopefully you like them.I’ve scored a few goals in them, so hopefully you will too. Just try and be a positive example for everyone else and keep the good vibe going.’
Nketiah with the winners of football boots
The players didn’t miss the chance to get some advice from a Premier League star, either.
‘Just keep practising. What gives you confidence in a match is if you’ve practised finishing so much, you’ve done so much repetition of finishing that when you get into a situation you just feel comfortable.’
Reflecting on the session, Akram said:
“It’s a very special moment because you don’t see players coming down every day, meeting these kids who are playing football session after session. They all enjoyed it and they’ll definitely go home and talk to their parents and their friends about it!’
Find out more on Get Involved, here.