Eleven Sports Media and London Stadium are funding 11 football bursaries for young refugees and asylum seekers through Bloomsbury Football Foundation, placing access rather than advertising at the centre of their new community partnership. Eleven young people will be able to join dedicated sessions without cost standing at the touchline and waving them away.
Eleven bursaries with a clear purpose
The partnership is intended to remove the financial barrier that often decides who plays organised sport and who merely watches. Bloomsbury Football Foundation runs programmes across London for girls, boys, young refugees and asylum seekers, and young people with special educational needs.
The partners have not stated the cash value or duration of the bursaries, so the scheme cannot yet be measured in pounds or seasons. Its intended effect is clear. The places will be fully funded, giving participants structured coaching and the social benefits of belonging to a team.
There is neat football arithmetic in the number chosen. Eleven players make a side. For once, the symbolism has been asked to do something useful.
Bloomsbury Football’s reach across London
Founded in 2018, Bloomsbury Football Foundation says it supports 6,500 players each week, including more than 2,000 girls. Its bursary model subsidises participation for young people from low-income backgrounds, while sessions aim to support physical health, mental wellbeing and wider life skills.
The charity has worked with FIFA, Nike, Mastercard and LALIGA, and has received recognition from the London Football Awards and the Sports Business Awards. Those names provide institutional weight, but weekly participation is the more persuasive measure. Community sport is rarely short of declarations. Consistent attendance is the harder currency.
Charlie Hyman, Founder and CEO of Bloomsbury Football, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with London Stadium and Eleven Sports Media. Every day, we see how the power of football can transform young people’s lives — creating opportunity, confidence and a sense of belonging, particularly for those facing health and social inequalities.
Through this partnership, we’re excited to build on that impact and ensure more young people can access the opportunities football provides.”
Why the London Stadium partnership matters
For London Stadium, the arrangement gives its associate partner programme a direct community function. Large venues can dominate a skyline while feeling distant from those living around them. Funding local participation is more convincing than another banner across a concourse.
Gary Bell, Commercial Director of London Stadium, added: “Eleven enables us to engage with the local community in a truly authentic way. This partnership with Bloomsbury Football Foundation is about investing in a programme that uses the power of football to give back, and it strongly reflects the core community values of the Stadium.”
The East London setting sharpens the relevance, connecting the stadium’s community ambitions with sessions delivered across the capital.
Eleven Sports Media puts community work into practice
Eleven Sports Media’s role matters because the partnership converts a broad commitment to inclusion into funded places. Corporate language is exceptionally good at describing barriers. Paying to remove one is the demanding part.
Matt Cairns, CEO of Eleven Sports Media, said: “Eleven is passionate about empowering communities and breaking down barriers to sport. This programme exemplifies our commitment to creating inclusive opportunities and strengthening the East London community through football.”
For the company, the strategic value lies in credible local association. For the charity, it is additional capacity. For the young people receiving the bursaries, the calculation is simpler: a session they can attend, a team they can join and a place where refugee status is not the most interesting thing about them.
Community football measured one place at a time
Eleven bursaries will not solve the financial inequalities surrounding youth sport in London. No sensible partnership should pretend otherwise. Community work is built through properly funded interventions rather than heroic claims.
Success will be found in attendance, retention and the experiences of the young people involved. The announcement supplies the first number. The real result will be the number who keep coming back.
