Woody Welcomes Fulham
The song goes… Neighbours, everybody needs good Neighbours… well residing just four and a half miles from the Gtech stadium our nearest Premier League neighbour, Fulham FC has clearly not got this memo…
Brentford’s recent history with The Whites has been competitive to say the least. Fulham emerged successful from the 2020 Championship play off final against the Bees and both teams managed Premier League promotion in the same season two years ago.
The away game at Craven Cottage earlier this season finished with a Fulham victory, beating Brentford 3-2.
So come Monday night Woody and I will be hoping to exact some revenge on Fulham and come away with the points.
Local rivalry aside we have to applaud the Fulham FC Foundation for their incredible work building strong links within the community over the last 20 years. The Foundation aims to improve physical and mental health well-being, whilst inspiring those involved and improving social connections.
So let’s start with the Fulham Badgers. This was the very first Down syndrome football team to be put together and they have been going since 2005. The Badgers have travelled far and wide, even competing in Hong Kong. And they must be the inspiration for the current team mascot, Billy Badger. Billy wears the number 79 shirt and lives at Motspur Park which is the training ground for the Fulham team.
The Badgers have inspired many but to say they have had a huge impact on the Mohamed family would be hugely under playing things… Adam Mohamed plays for The Badgers and it has really helped to keep Adam active and enhance his confidence. Adam’s brother and Dad, Zac and Moin, were so impressed with the work the Fulham Foundation does (including the Badgers team) that just last month they scaled the 19,000 feet of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, raising over £1000 for the Foundation.
Well Done Zac and Moin - Woody and I think this is brave and brilliant!
The Foundation also holds sessions called Fulham Memories. Held at a local church (St. Dionis) each session aims to provide an open space for the participants to use cognitive reminiscence alongside chair-based physical activity. Those involved benefit from meeting new people from within their community.
Woody and I really enjoyed the Women’s European Championships last summer and we certainly got swept along with the success of the Lionesses. So it was great to read that Fulham celebrated the winning result by hosting a special event for young girls to come together and play football, focus on their health and well-being and have a Q&A session with some players from the Women’s teams.
And the focus and commitment to the Women’s game doesn’t stop there. The club hosted an open training session back in November last year. The Lilly Lambird Project is helping girls aged from three to twelve to develop their footballing skills, engage with each other socially and look after their mental health.
We also loved learning about Fulham collaborating with the organisation Kulture City. The aim of this partnership is to improve the matchday experience for those with sensory needs. Fans will be provided with a sensory pack and the Club and City will work on making the facilities at Fulham accessible as well as providing specialist training to the stewards.
Finally, Woody and I thought the introduction of the DisAbility Matchday March three years ago was great. This four mile walk starts and finishes at Craven Cottage, and helps to raise the profile of the work the Foundation does, running disability specific programmes every day of the week. It was lovely to see William in this video talking about how special and proud he was to have taken part and get a medal for his hard work.
So that’s it… Fulham have a fantastic, full, fun Foundation making sure individuals with additional needs are included and can access positive sporting experiences… Mann… what a great job!
Woody is excited to welcome Fulham super fan Jo Wond on Monday evening but… will good Neighbours become good friends? Or will The Bees turn Fulham to a foe with the result?
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