Black Prince Trust has been excitedly following the progress of the Street Soccer London team and their road to the 32 Borough Cup, the organisation dedicated to making positive change through football, will represent Merton in the 32 Borough Cup this weekend at the iconic Hackney Marshes football pitches.

Street Soccer is a charity which uses the power of football to help young people & adults make positive changes in their lives, the aim of the programme is to improve wellbeing, confidence, and opportunities for people in London – being chosen to represent Merton at this tournament has created many of these chances for the young men involved.

Laura Foster, Community Programmes & Partnerships Manager said: “Street Soccer London are a massive asset to the Black Prince Community Hub and a highly regarded organisation by other on-site Partners, the youth programme delivers free football-related programmes to over 250 local boys and girls per week and have helped make the Hub a welcoming and positive space for young people to spend their free time.”

The 32 Borough Cup was instigated by Bobby Kasanga of Hackney Wick FC and is organised with the aim of helping to combat youth violence by bringing young people together across the 32 London Boroughs, to grow the grassroots game and improve community relations.

Since being offered a spot at the tournament, Street Soccer students have had the opportunity to attend trials and workshops in advance of final team selection.

With the final squad in place, Black Prince Trust and Street Soccer London have worked closely to provide a high-quality environment for the team to prepare for their big day including competitive fixtures, quality pitches and London FA match officials.

The team have been lucky enough to secure a sponsor in Vauxhall One who will invest at least £4million directly into improving Vauxhall over the next five years, the students love their training kit as evidenced in the fabulous photos above! Thank you Vauxhall One! (You can view Vauxhall One’s upcoming calendar of events happening this Summer in the image below).

Jack Badu, Youth Programme Lead SSL said: “When working in the local community I live in I find, very often young people are forgotten about. These young people are our future workforce, and I would love to think that they too one day will give back in the same way Vauxhall One have. I hope this is just the beginning of something special between BPT, Street Soccer and Vauxhall One.”

The tournament is on Sunday 11^th July, and to stay up to date please follow us on socials – @blackprincetrust @streetsoccerldn