Martene Carroll

CARIBBEAN WELL REPRESENTED AT THE FIWFA 2023 WALKING FOOTBALL WORLD NATIONS CUP

The Federation of International Walking Football Associations (FIWFA) will be staging their inaugural Walking Football World Nations Cup, August 24 – 26 in Derby at St George’s Park, the FA’s national training centre in Staffordshire, England.
At short notice, the Caribbean have entered 2 teams, one in the over 50’s and the other in the over 60’s categories.

The tournament will have sixteen countries competing in the over 50 category and twelve countries in the over 60’s. The Caribbean will be entering a team in each category of the 6-a-side tournament and due to the short notice have had to select their team from first generation players in the Caribbean diaspora that reside predominantly in the United Kingdom. The twenty-four players chosen—12 each squad—have roots from a good spread of the English-speaking Caribbean. It is the ‘Walking Football Caribbean’s’ intention to use this competition as a platform to fully promote the participation of this sport throughout the Caribbean in what has become a global phenomenon since walking footballs inception in the United Kingdom, approximately a decade ago.

In the over 60 category the Caribbean team will be playing in Group B against Northern Ireland, Italy, Australia, Wales, and the Czech Republic. Group A will be competing against hosts England, France, Basque Country, South Korea, Japan, and Canada.

In the Over 50 category the Caribbean team will play in Group B alongside Italy, Basque Country, Nigeria, Singapore, Jersey, Georgia, and Japan. Meanwhile, Group A will be competing against  England, Rwanda, Czech Republic, Egypt, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Wales, and Australia.

The challenge ahead may on paper seem daunting for our region. However, we can take our lead from the great West Indies cricket teams of the past and unbelievably, we do have an enviable track record that means we have to be taken very seriously. The club team ‘Pele’s Pearls’ a Caribbean Walking Football Club from the Midlands, UK represented England in a previous world championship and won. Several of these players are in both squads. So, we go into the competition with high expectations and certainly not as underdogs.

Walking Football Caribbean would like to acknowledge a heartfelt thank you to our sponsor Theo Burnett, Golden Krust franchise holder and Foundation Member (Atlanta) and our collaborating partner and aligned charity, the Jason Roberts Foundation who share our vision to see the game played wherever there are people of Caribbean origin for the health benefits that can experienced.

To follow our teams progress in the competition and to find out more about ‘Walking Football Caribbean’ please visit www.walkingfootballcaribbean.org we look forward to you dropping by.

To watch live coverage of the tournament:

The Recast FIWFA channel, the home of International Walking Football,
can be found at: http://recast.tv/FIWFA

CARRIBEAN WORLD CUP FIXTURES official schedule below.

50’s FIXTURES
Thursday, 24th Aug, 11:30AM – versus Jersey
Thursday, 24th Aug, 16:30PM – versus Nigeria
Thursday, 24th Aug, 17:20PM – versus Basque Country (Spain)

Friday, 25th Aug, 08:30AM – versus Singapore
Friday, 25th Aug, 14:20PM – versus Japan
Friday, 25th Aug, 16:00PM – versus Italy

60’s FIXTURES
Thursday, 24th Aug, 09:00AM – versus Italy
Thursday, 24th Aug, 14:00PM – versus Australia
Thursday, 24th Aug, 15:40PM – versus Czech Republic

Friday, 25th Aug, 15:10PM – versus Northern Ireland
Friday, 25th Aug, 16:50PM – versus Wales

Stay active, stay healthy.

On Sunday 14^th August Bakkavor Meals London, a local food Company returned to Bridgestone Arena for their third annual community day of Sports, Games, Activities, and Refreshments, to raise funds for the Jason Roberts Foundation.

The Fundraising Event organised by Bakkavor’s HR Team, followed the success of the T10 Cricket Event last year that raised over £2600 for JRF, and saw staff, teams, families, and volunteers come together, in a day that included a Cricket and Football Tournament, with teams from across the Bakkavor Meals organisation, as well as a range of activities for the children including face painting, and a fundraising Raffle with some amazing donated prizes.

With some unbelievable performances in the Cricket that kept the crowd captivated, and brilliant displays of teamwork and camaraderie, the weather held out until the end despite an early threat of rain stopping play. The winning team Cumberland, who managed to dethrone Bakkavor’s  Abbeydale site walked away with the trophy and shield, with other teams and individual performances awarded with medals.

Local former Heritage footballers Richard Langley and Mark Stein were on hand to referee and take part in the activities on the day, that was ably managed by a team of JRF Youth Volunteers.

With donations from across the Bakkavor Meals family along with the fundraising initiatives on the day, this year’s donation to JRF topped the previous 2-years with nearly £5000 being raised.

Martene Carroll, Business Development Manager for JRF said; “We are so grateful for our partnership with Bakkavor Meals London. Their annual events hosted at Bridgestone Arena go from strength to strength, and the family ethos of the business shows in the unity and teamwork that was so apparent on the day. The amazing amount they raised will go a long way in enabling us to continue supporting the local community to access sports provision.”

Luke Burgham, SHRBP said of the day.

“Every year this event goes from strength to strength. From what started as a small event 3 years ago, continues to evolve into a more key catching event every year. With over 400 people attending this year all helping raise money for a great local charity.

We are extremely proud to continue working with the Jason Roberts Foundation and putting on a spectacular cricket event every year. We’ve made some great foundations to partner together in making this event a success and we look forward to the joint participation every year.”

For more information regarding Bakkavor Meals London visit https://www.bakkavor.com/en/home/default.aspx

Sunday 30^th July 2023

Despite a rainy July day, JRF’s Summer Sports Jam at Bridgestone Arena NW10 went ahead, and was well attended by a large number of Brent residents.

The Summer Sports Jam event marked the end of JRF’s popular 9-month ‘Our Time Zone’ project – an Adults Sport, Social, and Health Club, funded by You Decide Brent Health Matters.

As well as a range of activities including Dance, Salsa, Walking Football, Dominos and Table Tennis, trial matches for the over 50s and 60s Caribbean team were held for the forthcoming  2023 Walking Football World Cup of Nations.

With many of the activities being held inside due to the unseasonal weather, the crowd had a chance to speak with some of the Health professionals in attendance, as well as seeking tips and advice from some of the qualified fitness coaches who have worked on the ‘Our Time Zone’ project, including Nines who delivers the Run Club each Tuesday.

A musical performance from award winning artist, Junior Giscombe, perhaps best known for his 1982 hit single, “Mama Used to Say” got the audience on their feet dancing and singing along to his well-loved hit songs well into the evening.

Feedback from those who have taken part in JRF’s ‘Our Time Zone’ project and who enjoyed the Summer Sports Jam Event included;

“A great event, good company, and community vibe.”

“It’s nice to have a place where adults feel valued.”

“Love coming to Brent. It’s such a beautiful moment seeing the older community so happy.”

“It may be raining outside but in my heart it’s spring.”

“We keep fit every Tuesday. It’s great for our mental health.”

Nines who runs the weekly Run Club added, “We set out to create a safe space for the local community to come to and have access to health checks and services they wouldn’t normally be able to reach. A lot of people need a push or don’t have the time. It’s great that the service meets the needs of the community and offers them a place where they can gather and socialise while keeping healthy. It’s a fantastic approach.”

Otis Roberts, CEO of JRF said of the Brent Health Matters funded project; “It has been and wonderful and eye opening nine months. From the engagement of the post-covid elders, to the female empowerment sessions, to the health workshops, and ‘Meet your GP’ sessions, this is just the beginning of something special in our Borough and we are particularly pleased that the local community have co-designed the project with us.” 

On Sunday 3rd July the Jason Roberts Foundation hosted the GDK Cup, a summer Football Tournament at Bridgestone Arena, NW10.

The GDK Cup, the brainchild of popular food brand company German Doner Kebab, saw more than 110  young people compete in a tournament with a focus on positive futures and career options. 

The event was ably organised and executed by JRF Youth Ambassadors who, as part of their work experience take part in training to organise and run events for the Foundation, and in the process help them to acquire a range of skills to add to their CV.

When asked by Loren, one of JRF’s Youth Ambassadors, how he thought about linking a sporting event to the German Doner Kebab name, Eddie Duah, Director and CEO of GDK answered, “It’s something we’ve done before with other teams, and we’re super proud of it. Being able to bring opportunities to people from North, South, East, and West London for me is amazing. When we had the possibility to do it with JRF and give young people a chance to get involved – whether helping to organise the event or playing in the tournament, was a no-brainer for us.”

Congratulating the JRF Youth Ambassadors for their great work in organising the event, Eddie went on to say, “I remember when I was younger being told that you need experience to do something, but if you’re not given the chance you’ll never get the experience. The more opportunities young people get, the better their job and career prospects will be.”

After an exciting final, the winning team hopped on the JRF minibus with their trophy to enjoy food at the nearby GDK in Willesden Green, where Eddie and the GDK staff met with the team and JRF Youth Ambassadors.

JRF plan to host similar events throughout the summer, promoting the benefits of sport, teamwork, diversity and inclusion as well as positive futures for young people.

Sunday 25^th June 2023

On Sunday afternoon over 750 people descended on Bridgestone Arena to enjoy a JRF Exhibition Football Match played by a host of footballing legends under the blazing June sun, to commemorate the 75^th Anniversary of the Empire Windrush’s arrival in Britain.

The free-to-attend event kicked off at midday when the match got underway celebrating the rich footballing heritage of Brent.

Other activities on offer included Salsa, Street dance, and dominoes to a backdrop of music, and refreshments with a Caribbean influence, and attendees had the opportunity to speak to a range of Health Professionals on everything from Eye Care, and Oral Health, with Blood Pressure and Diabetes checks provided by Brent Health Matters (BHM) and the NHS Clinical Team, as well as information for Carers, and a Will writing service.

Leader of Brent Council, Muhammed Butt and local Councillor Promise Knight were on hand to walk the teams out, and the new Mayor of Brent, Cllr Orleen Hylton was in attendance to enjoy some of the activities on offer and to meet local residents.

The all-day event was part of JRF’s ‘Our Time Zone’ project – a Sports, Social, and Health Club for Adults funded by You Decide Brent Health Matters.

On the day over 140 people managed to get their health checks completed thanks to the hard work of the Clinical Team, which was a really positive outcome to an enjoyable and productive day where sport, heritage, culture, health, and community came together.