In an effort to provide children and young people in the Southampton area a better future, Southampton Football Club has announced a ground-breaking collaboration with Fostering Southampton, the fostering programme run by Southampton City Council.
The programme, which got its start during Southampton City Council’s “Love Our Children” week, aims to find foster parents from a variety of backgrounds and cultures. They will be given thorough training and professional assistance to help them establish a loving home for underprivileged kids.
Saints is committed to helping Southampton’s youth and young adults maintain vital connections to their families, friends, and current educational institutions by working in partnership with Fostering Southampton.
There are 510 kids in care right now, and just over half of them have to be moved outside of Southampton because there aren’t enough foster homes available locally. The collaboration hopes to secure stability and continuity in the foster care system by assisting in the recruitment of local foster carers and reaching out to prospective new foster carers.
During the 2023–24 season, Southampton FC will collaborate with Fostering Southampton to provide free game tickets, merchandise, and unique opportunities to make treasured moments for both new and current foster carers and their families.
Foster carers have a significant influence on the development of young people. The football team hopes to use its influence to inspire people who are driven to make a difference to learn more about the opportunities available in fostering. Foster carers from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to participate in the programme, irrespective of their job schedules—full- or part-time, as well as their ethnicity or family history.
A digital Out-Of-Home advertising campaign using illustrations of Southampton’s men’s and women’s First Team players placed across the city has been used to support the campaign. Foster families and young people in care have done the artwork. Throughout the season, there will also be matchday takeovers and ongoing information on how to become a foster care provider.
As part of their broader Love Our Children Week celebrations, Southampton FC organised a unique stadium tour for foster children and their carers in addition to a football game between Fostering Southampton workers and the young people in care at a nearby school.
Greg Baker, Director of Community at Southampton Football Club, announced the agreement, saying: “We are thrilled to
“This project is a wonderful fit with our club’s ideals, which emphasise the importance of community and helping those in our city who are most in need. By inspiring our followers to think about adopting children into foster care, we want to provide these kids with stability and strengthen the ties that bind them to their heritage. By working together, we can provide a setting where each kid has the chance to flourish.”
Pedro ‘Pele’ Monteiro, an ex-Saints football player who has been fostering kids with his wife Jo for over ten years, is also supporting the cause.
Pele talked on the collaboration and his own foster experience, saying, “We feel extremely fortunate to have fostered over 70 children over the years.” Although fostering might be difficult, the benefits are enormous. Numerous foster children have become good friends with our two biological children, and fostering has given them invaluable life lessons and empathy. Anyone who has extra love to give and room in their house and heart should consider fostering, in our opinion. Being a member of this community of foster carers has been an amazing experience, and the training and support offered by the Southampton foster care network is outstanding.
Additionally, Southampton City Council Cabinet Member for Children and Learning Councillor Alex Winning stated: “Southampton Football Club has
“Southampton kids should receive the greatest care possible from their city, and our foster parents give our adolescents so much of their time, affection, and respect. For the sake of the city’s children and youth who are unable to live with their own family, Southampton City Council and several other local authorities in the UK desperately need to hire additional foster carers. Foster carers must provide these kids and teens with care, stability, and support in a secure and caring family setting. For a few evenings, weeks, months, or even years, this might be the case. Through this assistance, kids can develop and flourish.
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