Bringing hope to Hackney - How Hackney Wick FC and community projects are the best form of combatting youth violence.
Football is a major part of Hackney with Hackney Wick FC rising as a leading community project which has caught the attention from a wider audience.
Founded in 2015, Hackney Wick hosts young people across London who take part in their training sessions and matches.
The club set up by chairman, Bobby Kasanga gives young people a future. This is in a time where Hackney like the rest of the country is facing austerity and a cost of living crisis. The Guardian reported in 2022 that Hackney's Urswick school is the most disadvantaged school in the capital with 65% of students being eligible for free school meals.
Players are mentored and offered internships alongside the opportunity to play semi-professional football known as step six to develop their talent.
Community projects such as Hackney Wick have a sense of togetherness and are an alternative to increased policing when it comes to reducing youth crime. Community projects such as this one focuses on crime prevention through their programme which attracts players all over London.
The success stories the club has generated really bodes the question: how important is Hackney Wick as a community project?
Number of overall crimes reported per month in Hackney: NOV 21-OCT 22
Data provided by Police UK shows the increase in Hackney's crime rate since the end of 2021, suggesting a need for change in the area.
The role of male role models in combatting youth violence is an important one. Male role models can play a vital role in addressing this issue and helping to prevent young people from becoming involved in violence.
The figures place further emphasis on the importance of Hackney Wick FC's founder, Bobby Kasanga who has laid the foundation for his players' future.
Kasanga grew up in Peckham, South London after arriving from Congo. He spent his 20s in and out of jail and has since built up a social media platform, "Big Ego Entertainment". He channels his past experiences and educates parents and children on how to avoid falling into crime.
After being able to turn his life around, Kasanga is idolised by his players who hope to have a future as they progress into adulthood.
Coaches standing on sideline/ Credit: Reuben ROSSO-POWELL
Coaches standing on sideline/ Credit: Reuben ROSSO-POWELL
Coaches standing on sideline/ Credit: Reuben ROSSO-POWELL
Coaches standing on sideline/ Credit: Reuben ROSSO-POWELL
Coaches standing on sideline/ Credit: Reuben ROSSO-POWELL
Coaches standing on sideline/ Credit: Reuben ROSSO-POWELL
Coaches standing on sideline/ Credit: Reuben ROSSO-POWELL
Coaches standing on sideline/ Credit: Reuben ROSSO-POWELL
Voices from the pitch
Joao (Vice -captain)
"I've got a lot of respect for Bobby, a lot of time for him"
Justin (C)
"I look up to him a lot, he's very important to me. If there was anything I needed I could go to him and he will be there for me."
Gibson
"He’s so important to me, we’re from the same country as well, so me looking up to him hearing him have the same experiences as us makes him inspirational. It makes me want to push even more."
Daniel
"He's not only a coach but a teacher to show me what to do and what not to do."
Hackney Wick hosts a wealth of talented young players who have hopes of making it as a professional footballer. Gibson a 20-year-old from Hackney said: "The football club is very important to me. I’ve been made to feel at home."
The club gives players an opportunity to still play at a good level after being released from football academies across the country. He said: "When you get released from academies you’re vulnerable to anything. We are not from the best areas in London. Bobby’s here, he grew up in one of the rough areas as well, so he relates to us and is trying to get us back on top."
Players take part in sessions on Tuesday and Thursday in preparation for fixtures in their step six football league on Saturday.
At just 18, Daniel is one of the youngest members in the squad. He said: "It's given me a lot of opportunities. It's allowed other people my age to think that you don't have to be 21,22 to play step six football, you can be 18. The quality here is so good, it's made me a better player."
Hackney Wick play in the Thurlow Nunn League which is the sixth step of English football, this is an impressive rise from non league. Their pitch facilities are rented and they use volunteers to help coach and manage sessions.
These scheduled sessions coupled with the ambition to make it as a professional footballer provides structure in the lives of young people.
What should the government do to help with providing more opportunity?
Gibson said: "Definitely more things like this, if you have people who are occupied and actually doing something they have no time being in the streets, doing bad things, they actually have time to do something they actually like. I feel like the government need to pay more attention to it because that’s what helps us to be honest."
"I know, every single Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday I'm playing. If it wasn't for Hackney Wick I don't know what I'd be doing."
Gibson says the club has taken him out of the streets and given him something to focus on. He said: "Right now I'm here and if it wasn't this I'd be out there doing something stupid."
This type of approach in combatting youth violence and teaching young players aims to set the seed for their future by laying the foundations through offering them internships.
The club uses their local connections to give the players working opportunities to help them alongside football.
MP of Hackney North and Stoke Newington, Diane Abbott is an advocate for community projects aimed at young people to keep them out of trouble.
In her constituency of Hackney, youth violence and knife crime has been prevalent. Policy Exchange's report: Knife Crime in the Capital reported Hackney to have the most incidents across London between 2012-2019 at a rate of 150 per 100,000 people.
She believes more needs to be done to ensure that children are having a positive school experience.
For players who attend school, Hackney Wick has agreements in place that attendance need to be 100% in order for them to play football matches on the weekend. A simple yet effective message which emphasises the importance of education.
Diane Abbott said: "If you’re dealing with an 18 year old in a gang who’s stabbed someone then it’s too late. We need to deal with these people younger. We need to ensure they are having a positive school experience."
Ms Abbott highlighted the amount of black footballers representing England who have benefitted from opportunities to play football at a young age.
She said:"I think we've got some good community projects - it's all about funding obviously. I think engaging these young men in sport, football. Community projects are very important."
Credit: Members of Parliament UK
Credit: Members of Parliament UK
Credit: Members of Parliament UK
Credit: Members of Parliament UK
In his third season at Hackney Wick, 21-year-old Justin became the club captain. He's been learning essential skills on and off the pitch through training, mentoring and internships. Chairman Bobby Kasanga said: "He's becoming the man I want all the players to be."
Justin said:"I got the opportunity to go to an internship when I was 18 or 19, it's given me job opportunities.
Government funding in areas such as Hackney is essential to lowering crime rates. Diane Abbott said: "Through the local authority the government need to make sure schools have more funding and then schools also can help set up and promote community projects."
"Under this government with cuts and cuts and cuts a lot of these projects are in danger"
In the last seven years Hackney Council have lost a staggering £110 million from their budget. They said: "We must find further savings up to 2023 at least. Inequality is widening in the borough, and welfare reform is set to increase that challenge."
"As a Council, maintaining strong, healthy communities, in the face of that inequality, is one of our greatest and most difficult tasks."
Justin said: "Without the club there will be a lot of lost kids". These are the words from a man whose fate has been changed by a community football club. Without this opportunity he said: "I don't know where I'd be".
Community projects focus on giving young people those opportunities enjoyed by people like Justin.
The players use the same word 'inspire' when discussing the club, the project has given them hope despite their borough faces its biggest challenges.
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