Local Refugee Group Receive Access-All-Areas Tour

Leicestershire CCC provided a day to remember for a group of Afghan and Sudanese refugees, after opening its doors for an access-all-areas tour earlier this week.

Freedom Youth Club, an arm of The Centre Project, were welcomed to Uptonsteel County Ground on Tuesday for a tour of the Foxes’ home, as well as an opportunity to try out their cricketing skills in the Mike Turner Indoor Cricket Centre.

The project, who are based in Granby Street, offers social drop-in sessions for 13“19-year-olds, targeting unaccompanied, asylum-seeking young people and refugees in Leicester.

The group comprised teenagers predominantly from Afghanistan and Sudan, most of whom had arrived in the UK within the past 6-12 months.

Women’s Head Coach Stephen Franklin led a behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium, including the outdoor nets and new changing rooms, before taking the group to the Indoor School for their first taste of playing the game.

After witnessing what professional pace looks like, the youth club members had the opportunity to face the bowling machine for themselves before receiving some expert coaching to develop their own ability with ball in-hand.

The special day was organised by LCCC’s City Development Officer Dave Allen, further strengthening the Club’s community connections with refugee-linked projects in the city.

The Club also runs sessions with The City of Sanctuary’s Leicester branch to provide coaching to adult Afghan refugees and weekly hard-ball training to unaccompanied young people from Afghanistan in collaboration with charity After18.

Speaking about the day, Dave Allen said: “It was heartwarming to see the response from the group, especially those who hadn’t had access to cricket before.

“At Leicestershire, we know how valuable a vehicle cricket can be in escaping hardship and bringing people from all backgrounds together.

“The work Freedom do is invaluable, and we look forward to developing our relationship with the project further in future months “ starting with welcoming them back for one of our One Day Cup fixtures next month.”

To read more about Freedom Youth Club’s work, please visit www.centreproject.org/our-services/freedom-youth-club/