Palace for Life take over Speaker’s House for FA Cup celebration
On Wednesday 15 October, Palace for Life brought together the Crystal Palace community at Speaker’s House to celebrate the club’s FA Cup and Community Shield victories and to highlight our ongoing work supporting young people across South London.
As the official charity of 2025 FA Cup winners Crystal Palace F.C., we help young South Londoners stay physically and mentally healthy, provide early support to divert them from crime or anti-social behaviour and open up pathways into education, training and employment.
To mark the historical cup wins and highlight our ongoing support for young people in South London, we hosted an event at Speaker’s House to showcase that work and reflect on the wider impact of Palace’s FA Cup triumph on the club, its fans and the local community.
Those in attendance included Palace Manager Oliver Glasner, former club captain Joel Ward, Chairman Steve Parish, Palace Women players Aimee Everett and Molly Mae Sharpe, Members of Parliament and representatives from the wider Palace community, including fundraisers, media, influencers and Palace for Life Investors among other special members of the Palace community.
Opening the celebration was Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons since 2019, followed by a warm welcome from Parliament sponsors Liam Conlon MP and Peter Fortune MP.
Guests then heard from Palace for Life CEO Mike Summers, who said in his programme notes:
“For more than 30 years we have been using the power of football to reach young people who often feel overlooked or underestimated. We help them build confidence, stay healthy, avoid the pull of crime or anti-social behaviour and open doors to education, training and work. Each year we support over 18,000 young people, and this FA Cup victory has given us the opportunity to reach even more.
The eyes of the football world are on Palace right now. Our aim is to use this spotlight to create lasting change for young South Londoners, not just for this season, but for the next generation.”
Following Mike’s remarks, Ed Warner, former Chair of Trustees and now Patron of Palace for Life, joined Crystal Palace Chairman Steve Parish on stage. Steve spoke openly about what it meant to win the FA Cup, both as Chairman and as a lifelong fan, and reflected on his pride in how far Palace for Life has come during his 15 years at the club.
Following Steve, we heard from Toby, a young South Londoner on our Targeted Intervention programme, who, before a life changing trip to France with Palace for Life, had barely left London. Toby and his mentor Sarah discussed a French exchange trip he embarked on last year, which, in his own words ‘helped him more than five years at school’.
Toby has autism and first engaged with our work to improve his confidence and expand his opportunities in life, and when the chance to visit France to support disadvantaged young people in the country came about, he dived into it head first. This life changing experience saw Toby lead his own sports activities for French children and is what helped him get to where he is now; working as a teaching assistant in a SEND school, using his experiences to support other young people facing challenges of their own.
After a closing statement from Chair of Trustees Paul Cleal, attendees enjoyed a photo with the FA Cup and Community Shield trophy and soaked up what as was inspiring event with ‘Palace at the Palace.