As part of the Players’ Project, Michail Antonio joined a group of young people who, through the Moore Family Foundation (MFF), regularly meet with mentors within their Pupil Referral Unit and at the West Ham United Foundation.
Antonio provided insight into his own journey and the unique challenges faced on his path to becoming a professional footballer, while also offering advice to each of the young people in attendance.
“This was an important event to be a part of,” Antonio explained. “These kids have had a setback in life and aren’t in school, but that isn’t the be all and end all. Obviously, it’s important to have a good education but it isn’t all about degrees these days.
“People are more diverse in their skillsets and, if you’re good at the work and you’re driven and imaginative, then you are employable. That’s what a lot of jobs are looking at now. As long as you can prove you are driven and will do the work, there is work out there for you”.
Established in the late, great West Ham and England captain Bobby Moore’s memory by his daughter Roberta Moore, the MFF provides life changing opportunities for young people across east London. The programme works specifically with young people aged 11-16 who are outside mainstream education, due to encountering challenging times at school or home, and provides them with bespoke assistance and opportunities.
Kayla, one of the young people involved in the mentorship afternoon, took lessons from the advice shared by Antonio.
She said: “I found this event helpful and inspiring. The players spoke about their careers, gave advice for young people and about how life was for them growing up. I really enjoyed it.
“What I got from the event really was Michail telling us to trust our guts and be confident. That really hit me. Whatever you want to do in life, just trust yourself and be confident about it.”
West Ham United players have regularly reached out to young people within Moore Family Foundation’s provision, with previous meets consisting of young people attending Rush Green, Chadwell Heath and London Stadium.
Furthermore, one of the key highlights for young people last year involved receiving an invitation to watch West Ham defeat Sevilla in the UEFA Europa League round of 16 last season in an electric night under the lights.
Cormac Hanrahan, Education Manager at the West Ham United Foundation and MFF Lead, knows all too well about the impressive ability the West Ham United badge holds in being able to break through and increase the likelihood of young people following a positive pathway.
“Having some players down to offer some encouragement on pathways and career opportunities in football was great and it was a really informative event for our participants,” said Hanrahan.
“Michail was fantastic with the advice he gave, talking about his own personal experiences, and the young people there were really engaged and asked questions. They definitely took a lot from the event.”
A long-standing relationship has also been created between MFF and London East Alternative Provision to support their Key Stage 4 students.
One of the many examples of the transformational impact of MFF can be seen with one young person referred to here as ‘YPA’ for anonymity purposes.
At the beginning of Year 10, YPA was struggling with motivation towards their education, an inability in building positive relationships with others, and increasing concerns about what they were going to do at the end of Year 11.
In September 2021 an MFF tutor began providing intervention through one-to-one and group mentoring. Since then, the young person has gradually re-established their voice, influence and place in society and the development of their communication skills has allowed them to build better interpersonal relationships.
Most notably, YPA’s self-esteem has advanced so much that they now have the confidence to assist other members of the group with their work, and act as a peer mentor, using their own experiences to try to help others.
The tutor has recognised that YPA now has a clear sense of determination to do well in Year 11 and that they have identified coaching as a career of interest to them.
As a result, the young person is currently working towards their Sports Leaders Level 1 & 2 qualifications, the FA Level 1 in Coaching Football, and they are about to start volunteering with West Ham United Foundation.
For more information about Moore Family Foundation please contact [email protected]
