The community football pitch on Islington Council’s Mayville Estate has reopened to provide a safe space for young people to enjoy their summer.
The pitch was refurbished by Arsenal and adidas as part of the No More Red campaign, launched in January 2022 to support the club’s long-standing work to help keep young people safe from knife crime and youth violence.
On Wednesday, July 31, the community came together for a fun day with Islington Council and Arsenal to celebrate the reopening of the pitch. Two community-led projects, Access to Sports and Sports and Life Skills, delivered free activities for local children.
Councillors also came for a kick-around, including Executive Member for Health and Social Care, Cllr Flora Williamson, and ward councillors, Cllr Santiago Bell-Bradford, Cllr Jenny Kay and Cllr Angelo Weekes.
The Mayville Estate is the latest pitch to be refurbished thanks to the No More Red campaign, with Harvist and King Square Estates having already received upgrades in previous years.
No More Red sees Islington Council, adidas and Arsenal working together to tackle the root causes of youth violence. Established in 2022, the campaign has invested in creating safe spaces for young people, giving them access to trusted role models, opportunities to prosper and a sense of belonging.
Councillor Flora Williamson, Executive Member for Health and Social Care, said, "In Islington, we are committed to supporting our communities and working to make our borough a place where young people receive the best start in life.
"By investing safe spaces to play football, like the Mildmay Estate pitch, we can give Islington’s young people room to stay active, have fun, learn new skills and fulfil their potential.
"Thank you to Arsenal and adidas for enabling the transformation of this pitch, and for their ongoing commitment to young people through their No More Red campaign."
Freddie Hudson, Head of Arsenal in the Community, said, “I’m really proud to see our partnership with adidas deliver a third pitch in the borough. Pitches such as this are valuable safe spaces, giving young people access to a support network with important role models across our local community. This helps to create a sense of belonging, something which continues to be at the heart of our No More Red campaign, and of our club as we continue to support positive social change in our community.”
This summer, Islington Council have thousands of hours of free activities and courses for children, families and young people – many including a free lunch – helping to keep our young people healthy, happy and safe.
To find the latest information and inspiration on all of the above and much more, see islington.gov.uk/summer or search #DoSummer on X – and if you’d like regular updates and more delivered straight to your inbox, just sign up to the IslingtonLife newsletter.
The youngsters enjoyed lots of free activities
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
