Each year when I reflect on Hackney Laces, I’m still astonished we’ve made it this far. 4 years and we still exist! I hope that this feeling never goes away because there’s still so much work to be done. In keeping with tradition, I’ll share what we’ve learned over the past year.
On July 1, 2011 I arrived home from work to find a letter on my doorstep from Unltd. The letter read “Congratulations you have been awarded a level 1 award for your project just another football club”.
This was a big day. And Each year July rolls around I think back to beginning of laces and this day. Support from Unltd meant that not only did I no longer need to self- fund football sessions for girls, it meant that someone actually believed in my idea.
It has been exactly a year since I was given an Unltd level 1 Award to set up the project now known as Hackney Laces. And a good year it has been.
What began as me and 7 girls on rainy November nights has now turned into ‘we’ and a small army of players. In the words of one of the girls, “we’re a real life football (and community) club.”