Hampshire FA Donates Football Equipment to Support Southampton’s Asylum Seekers and Care Leavers
Date: 29 June, 2025
The Hampshire Football Association (HFA) has stepped up to support vulnerable young people in Southampton by donating footballs and boots to a monthly football session run for care leavers and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
Organised by Southampton City Council, the sessions are held at Cantell School and cater to young people aged 16 and over. With up to 20 participants attending each month—and demand steadily increasing—the donation comes at a crucial time to ensure the programme can continue growing and providing much-needed recreational opportunities.
The support comes through HFA’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) team, which has worked in partnership with local football clubs and community-minded businesses. The equipment was made available thanks to donations from clubs across the county and the success of the association’s ‘Footballs for Schools’ campaign. Additional boots were supplied through a collaboration with Howden Insurance Alton, whose ongoing donation scheme is helping meet the needs of grassroots sports initiatives.
HFA’s CSR Chair, Cai Povey says: “We are incredibly proud to support Southampton City Council’s asylum seeker football sessions as part of our ongoing CSR commitments. It’s inspiring to see how a simple game of football can create connection, inclusion and joy for young people, many of which have faced barriers to participation. We’re looking forward to building on this work together and are grateful for the support from partners like Howden Insurance Alton who are helping ensure sport is accessible for everyone by providing footwear.”
The initiative aligns with the environmental and community pillars of HFA’s CSR strategy, which focuses on using football as a force for good across Hampshire.
Stuart Webb, Head of Quality, Improvement and Commissioning for Southampton’s Children and Learning Service, welcomed the support: “We are delighted that Hampshire FA are supporting our football sessions. The partnership will help us involve more young people and we are particularly pleased that we can now run tournaments, which has been our aspiration for a while.”
In fact, talks are already underway between HFA and Southampton City Council to organise an annual tournament for asylum seeker teams across the county. The event would transform the current monthly kickabouts and turn them into a fun and competitive tournament that is backed by the association.
For more information on Hampshire FA’s CSR initiatives, visit Hampshire FA website.