What is the Palace for Life takeover game?
At Crystal Palace’s fixture against Bournemouth this Saturday, Palace for Life, the official charity of Crystal Palace F.C., is taking over Selhurst Park to raise awareness of our vital work across the south London community. We are asking Palace fans to get involved in activities across the stadium and donate to support our mission.
What’s going on?
You might usually see our stall in the fanzone pre-match, with lots of people trying their skills at our penalty shootout. However, for our special takeover against Bournemouth, we are doing a full takeover pre-match. Here’s what’s happening.
- Raffle – Head to the fanzone in time to catch the raffle and have a chance to win special Palace prizes.
- Penalty shootout – You can still test your skills in our penalty shootout pop-up!
- Find out more about Palace for Life – speak to our dedicated fundraisers about our work in the community.
- Live music – listen to tunes from DJ Jay Knox to get in the mood for Palace’s push for Europe!
- Tap to donate station – You can easily support our work by visiting our donate stations and giving to help continue our work in the community. Or you can donate online.
Is anything happening pitchside?
Yes! Here’s what to expect -so make sure you’re keeping an eye out before the match, and at half-time!
- Try and catch your own Palace for Life t-shirt! We will be giving away t-shirts at half-time by using our special t-shirt guns, you may have seen these before at previous matches, usually fired by the Crystals.
- Fans might also notice some Palace for Life flags being waved pitch-side before kick-off – make sure you keep an eye out for those!
- Players will be warming-up in ‘Palace for Life’ t-shirts, to help raise awareness of the campaign, you can find out more about it here
- A special lap around the pitch from our dedicated ‘Bike From Bournemouth’ riders. Please give them a round of applause as they make their way round – they have just completed a 120-,ile round cycle from Bournemouth for our annual cycling event. You can find out more about our riders here.
- It’s all happening on Saturday, and last but not least, keep an eye on the big screen for a special ‘Glad All Over’ video too! The DS Eagles have released a special cover of ‘Glad All Over’.
Elsewhere in the stadium…
There will be a silent auction taking place. Don’t miss your chance to win exclusive Palace prizes, from a signed Eberechi Eze shirt, to signed boots from Chris Richards! You can find out more via this link.
Why are Palace for Life taking over the Bournemouth game?
We are taking over Selhurst Park to raise awareness of our vital work across the south London community. We are asking Palace fans to get involved in activities across the stadium and donate to support our mission.
You will also notice a ‘Glad All Over’ theme throughout our takeover.
As the official charity of Crystal Palace F.C., we have released a cover of the club’s iconic walk-out anthem, Glad All Over by The Dave Clark Five. Performed by our Down’s Syndrome football team, the DS Eagles and Crystal Palace players, the song aims to challenge stereotypes around Down’s syndrome and employment and raise funds for our work.
This cover of the 1963 hit by The Dave Clark Five marks the culmination of DS GAME ON, a year-long Palace for Life programme designed to help people with Down’s Syndrome develop skills and confidence for employment, partially funded by the Premier League and Professional Footballers Association.
Combining two of the charity’s most successful initiatives, DS Eagles, which provides sports sessions for people with Down’s Syndrome, and GAME ON, its flagship employment programme, partly funded by the Premier League Professional Footballers Association (PLPFA) the project gives participants hands-on experience in a range of job roles.
Croydon is one of 32 London Boroughs with the highest number of 16-17-year-olds not in education, training, or employment. Many young people face obstacles like limited experience, lack of confidence, and restricted access to support.
For those with disabilities, like Down’s Syndrome, the barriers can be even greater, ranging from prejudice to low expectations about what they can achieve.
While there is no specific data on how many people with Down’s Syndrome are in work, but disability charity Mencap estimates that 65% of people with learning disabilities, Down’s Syndrome included, want to work, yet fewer than 20% are employed. Here’s where Glad All Over comes in.
We hope Glad All Over will raise awareness, challenge outdated assumptions, and generate funds to support its employment programmes for young people across south London.
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