The Albion Foundation successfully hosted a Utilita Football Festival in partnership with EFL on Tuesday.
Over 300 children, seven Albion first-team players, EFL Championship and EFL Cup trophies and an EA Sports gaming van graced the Foundation’s Ray Hall Lane base in Great Barr for a day of football fun and exciting engagement.
One half of the astroturf became a buzzing hub of community action, with free tickets handed out to local participants, while the other side played host to a PDA Tournament.
Sam Whitmore, Head of Football, believes these types of events are “massive” for both the Foundation, and the community.
“These kind of events are massive for us because not only does it give us the opportunity to show what we're about,” Whitmore said. “It also gives us a chance to try and get them back onto our pathway and also give our local community opportunities to mix with some of the first team as well.”
On-loan Albion forward Adam Armstrong was welcomed for his first Foundation event since signing in January, and expressed his appreciation for the community engagement.
“It's been brilliant,” Armstrong said. “It's my first one today, I’ve only been at the club a couple weeks now and it's unbelievable to see all the kids faces enjoying themselves, which is the main thing.
“It’s unbelievable, I used do this as a kid as well when I was younger and just getting everyone together is the main thing.”
Albion Women forward Mariam Mahmood came through the Foundation’s football pathway to make her mark in the senior set-up.
“It's really nice to see so many people here like girls and boys, it's a mixture of different backgrounds as well, which is really nice to see,” Mahmood said. “I think it's really good that we're doing something like this because there wasn't much of this when I was younger.”
One participant also commented: “We’ve been playing in a football tournament and we've won every single game. I’ve had loads of fun today.”
