Woody Welcomes Leicester City
Its been a while since Woody and I have been to the Gtech on a Saturday afternoon, we have had night games,mid week games and so it feels really good to be heading to the stadium tomorrow to enjoy The Bees versus The Foxes.
It will be even more special because Woody is taking part in the Guard of Honour. I predict his excitement levels will be off the chart!
Our track record against Leicester City is not great, with just six wins over the 32 games we have played during the years, with the last win coming in 1956... Feels about time we used our Bee sting to tame the bark of the Fox.
We wanted to start this review of how Leicester City support their community by acknowledging The VichaiSrivaddhanaprabha Foundation. The Foundation was set up during the 20011/2012 season but was renamed in 2018 following the tragic death of the clubs Chairman, Khun Vichai, in a helicopter accident in October of that year.
The Foundation aims to raise funds to support charities within the community. Since its launch 12 years ago, the Foundation has raised over £2million, enabling it to support the renovation of the Leicester Royal Infirmary’s Children’s Outpatient Ward and provide life-saving equipment to the Children’s Intensive Care Unit.
It cannot be underestimated how important such funding is to those who benefit from it.
Another charitable arm of the Foxes is Leicester City in the Community. This organisation aims to engage,inspire and empower those living in the community through education, community engagement and football development.
The Community projects are far reaching and include some amazing initiatives such as Goal Difference. This ten-week programme uses football alongside strategies such as mindfulness to improve the mental health of adults. Reading the impact these sessions have had on the participants is truly humbling with one attendee saying,
“I came out of the Covid pandemic in a bad place... The programme has since helped me look at things in different ways; I am a better person now – I am calmer and kinder – I think of other people more than I used to.”
What an impact football clubs can have on peoples lives.
It was also really lovely to learn about Miriam Lynn, who featured in an article for the Downs Syndrome Association. Miriam, and her husband Steven, have been season ticket holders at Leicester City for most of their nearly 30 years of marriage. Miriam says that football is a huge part of her life and went to her first game many years ago at The Walker stadium. Although Miriam does confess that she also has a soft for Liverpool FC and when they play each other she hopes for a draw.
Woody and I were saddened to hear of the passing of Sandra Fixter on Christmas Eve last year. But we were also really in awe to learn of Sandra’s passion, dedication and focus on improving the matchday experience for Leicester fans who have a disability. Sandra had been the Chairwoman of the LCFC Disability Supporter Association for seven years before her passing in December. Sandra worked tirelessly to ensure that fans with a disability were not an afterthought by the club but were rather considered ‘front and centre’ of Leicester’s thinking in terms of ensuring these fans could be comfortable and safe during home and away games. One of Sandra’s brilliant achievements was to ensure that each fan could have a free ticket for their carer to attend the matches too.
Sandra was a hugely exuberant fan of the Foxes and Woody and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the video diary Sandra filmed for The Victoria Derbyshire Show back when Leicester won the Premier League in 2016. It was clear from this diary that Sandra absolutely loved her team and that is something Woody and I can relate too.
Our most sincere condolences to all who knew and loved Sandra.
Finally, we wanted to talk about the collaboration between Brentford and Leicester to support Disability History Month in 2021. This important month runs from 16th November to 16th December and aims to recognise the push for equality and recognition of the human rights of people with disabilities. The two clubs vying for the points tomorrow hosted a football showcase for those who have a learning disability, additional needs or a mental health condition. After the showcase those who attended made the short trip from Gunnersbury Park to the Gtech to watch the Premier League match between the two clubs... Leicester won 2-1... as I said, the Foxes are a little bit of a banana skin for us...
Woody will be meeting a mini fan with as much passion for Leicester, as Woody has for Brentford. They will be spending some together in the sensory room and we can't wait to meet Noah tomorrow.
Here is hoping the Bees can buzz around the Foxes, distract them and take the three points tomorrow!
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