Football gives Anthony a goal in life

12th May 2017

Growing up, Anthony witnessed first-hand the trauma associated with addiction. For years his mother struggled with alcoholism. But her fight ended tragically and she died while Antony was still at school. Her death has made him all the more determined to lead a fit and healthy life. While some of his friends fell into drug dealing and crime to solve their money worries, Anthony knew this was not the route for him. He left school with no qualifications but decided to focus on playing football, which he felt was his only natural talent, and was backed by his father.

He started attending weekly football sessions at Street League, a project using cash raised by Sport Relief to offer a programme of sports and job skills to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. The project runs in various locations around the UK, and 81% of their graduates progressed into employment, education and training.

It’s given Anthony the focus he needs to find work, and has inspired him to look at coaching positions so that he can help other people too.

He says, “Street League can help anyone, and they’re committed to mentoring you even when the course is over. There are no boundaries here; we’re all here for football and we’ve all learnt so much.”