Spurgeon's College sponsors community football tournament 

More than 70 youngsters from the local community enjoyed a competitive and fun afternoon of football at the Preventing Knife Crime (PKC) Academy’s summer football tournament

PKC is a football organisation based in Croydon, set up to make football accessible to all young people. The Academy works to teach young people the transferable skills that they need to be successful in life through football, as well as giving them opportunities and keeping them healthy and active. 

Its summer football tournament took place at the Selhurst sports arena on Saturday (28 August).

Sponsoring this event forms part of Spurgeon’s College’s commitment to supporting the local community through helping to develop youth talent and promote social mobility within Croydon. It's part of the College’s wider plans to become the first home-grown university in Croydon, enabling it to offer higher education and developmental opportunities to more people within the Borough.

Principal of Spurgeon’s College, the Revd Professor Philip McCormack said, 'As a higher education institution and a deeply embedded member of the local Croydon community, we recognise how important it is to provide young people with opportunities and pathways for self-development and success.

'We were therefore delighted to be able to sponsor the PKC Academy’s summer football tournament over the weekend. The tournament forms an important part of the Academy’s wider mission to promote social mobility and nurture youth talent, particularly for underprivileged groups, and Spurgeon’s College was proud to be able to provide sponsorship.' 

Founder of the PKC Academy, Craig Foster said, 'On behalf of the whole Academy and the fantastic teams who played on Saturday, I want to thank Spurgeon’s College for providing sponsorship for our local community football tournament. It was an excellent day of football which allowed all of the players to showcase their hard work in training over the previous months. 

'As an organisation which relies much on external funding and sponsors, we are truly grateful to the College for their sponsorship and support to enable the tournament to go ahead. We also want to thank Croydon Councillor Patsy Cummings for all of her work to support the organisation of the event, particularly in connecting the Academy and Spurgeon’s College.'

Councillor Patsy Cummings, Deputy Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon, Culture & Regeneration and Race Equality Champion at Croydon Council said, 'It was fantastic to see this year’s PKC Academy football tournament taking place over the weekend. After such a difficult 18 months due to the pandemic, it is more important than ever that young people are given the space and opportunity to develop their skills and social engagement.

'I want to thank the Academy for hosting such a brilliant tournament, and Spurgeon’s College for sponsoring this great afternoon of football, helping to support and cultivate some of the potential and talent that exists in our local communities.' 

Image | Preventing Knife Crime Academy