Accrington Stanley hosts its first open Iftar, also runs community projects for Ramadan with Hyndburn Council.
The club received a grant from Hyndburn Council to help them host the Iftar. This funding also enables Stanley to keep helping the community and allows the club to create positive change locally. The grant follows a successful funding application.
Stanley also secured funding for another idea to help Year 8 students in Hyndburn. Many kids got football shirts earlier as part of the program. They want to teach good lessons using football; the project aims to prevent harmful ideas. Accrington Stanley will connect with all Year 8 students.
The club will run workshops over six weeks, talking about sensitive topics. The goal is to raise awareness and to promote healthy thinking. The workshops will deal with narratives, working to counter extremist narratives.
After the workshops, students visit a game to watch Stanley play MK Dons on March 4. Before the match starts, they can also break their fast at the stadium, as Accrington Stanley is doing a “Mosque Walk.” The same night, they will conduct their walk to the match, working in conjunction with Raza Jamia Masjid.
Warren Eastham, the CEO at Accrington Stanley, expressed the club’s pride in running these events. Their goal is to unite people, regardless of background, and bring different ethnic groups together. People share pride in their team and town.
Robert Houseman, who works for Accrington Stanley, anticipates welcoming people, including some visiting the stadium for the very first time. He believes the events, including their first Iftar ever, will be amazing.
Noordad Aziz, Deputy Leader of Hyndburn Council, thinks these events are great because they bring the community together. People listen, share, and understand each other, which improves connections in the area.
Accrington Stanley regularly runs projects to build a sense of belonging in diverse communities. As this is the first Iftar event, the council wants people to lead on it.
Hyndburn Council received a grant from the government for community work. Accrington Stanley, identified as a diverse club, earned a Bronze level award recognizing their efforts in equality.