Emmanuel Eboue at Hargave Park Primary School
As part of Arsenal in the Community’s 25th anniversary Arsenal in the Community’s ‘World on our Doorstep’ project enjoyed a visit from special guest, Arsenal star Emmanuel Eboue during one of its sessions with Hargrave Park Primary School in Archway on Tuesday, February 23.
The visit forms part of Arsenal Football Club’s week-long celebration of 25 years of commitment to its community. For the last quarter of a century, Arsenal in the Community has invested over 5.5 million hours and involved 1 million individuals, across a wide variety of sporting, charitable, educational and social inclusion projects in London and overseas. World on our Doorstep has been a part of the department’s extensive portfolio of initiatives for the last three seasons.
Now in its fourth season, the ‘World on our Doorstep’ project draws parallels between Arsenal Football Club and the multicultural north London area in which the Club is rooted. The project, which is funded by the Premier League and PFA Community Fund, sees Arsenal in the Community staff deliver assemblies to every primary school in its locality who wish to participate in the scheme, which also includes a lesson in the classroom, a football session and a visit to Emirates Stadium – Arsenal’s home located on the pupils’ own ‘doorstep.’
Speaking ahead of the event, Emmanuel Eboue said: “I visited a different primary school last season who were also taking part in World on our Doorstep and I absolutely loved it. The children here are learning that the Arsenal team is like the Borough in which we play, with people speaking different languages and coming from a mixture of different backgrounds.
“I feel honoured to be a part of the celebrations for 25 Years of Arsenal in the Community as I have seen first hand, on several occasions now, the great work this department does with the local community. The staff make the connection between Arsenal Football Club and the local community and they do a fantastic job.”
To mark the 25 years milestone of Arsenal in the Community, the department will share the work it undertakes with Arsenal players who are to visit an array of projects throughout this week, which will culminate in a celebration at Emirates Stadium on February 25th with manager, Arsène Wenger.
This special Arsenal in the Community 25th anniversary event also formed part of the Premier League initiative Places for Players (part of the Creating Chances scheme) which uses the power of football to engage a cross section of community in a wide variety of projects.
