Community Engagement: A Celebration

We’re dedicating today to highlight the work of our Community Engagement department, which has been led for the past 18 months by our friend and colleague Aziz.

With the help of a fantastic team, they achieved many milestones and helped a diverse group of youngsters in 2024.

We’d like to take a moment to share these with you.

Different communities we work with

The team work tirelessly all year round on our core programmes; weekly Premier League Kicks sessions, girls only football, football sessions to help more of the local Asian community play the game, and our Adult Academy football sessions.

Cut It Out

Last year the Community Engagement team came together once again for the fourth edition of Cut It Out, an evening of football on the pitch at Selhurst Park as well as workshops which showcase the range of support available to young south Londoners facing a number of different challenges.

Oasis Shirley Park – The Opening!

Another milestone we celebrated this Autumn was the opening of a new pitch in the heart of Croydon, giving young south Londoners the chance to enjoy our programmes and PE sessions in a safe, state of the art environment.

Coach Gemma in Chicago

Women and Girls Engagement Officer, Gemma, had the opportunity to represent Palace and lead a variety of football sessions to local children in Chicago as part of the Premier League’s Morning Live Fan Festival.

Refugee Sessions

Last summer we invited refugees to play at Selhurst Park, provided travel subsidies to 5 young refugees from our Community Support Fund and donated football boots for use at our programmes.

Get Involved

Our Get Involved programme is another completely free session to help youngsters, specifically those of Asian backgrounds, engage in a range of physical activities.

Iftar

In March 2024, Aziz and his team welcomed over 100 south Londoners to break-fast at our third annual Iftar at Selhurst Park.

Our Selhurst Park Iftar is embedded in our mission to welcome more people to the game, especially the local Asian and Muslim community, the latter of which makes up 11% of the community in Croydon.