Story added: 3rd June 2025

MyClub - Matt's Story

In 2024, the Foundation received funding from the Premier League Fans Fund and additional funding earlier this year from Sky Bet EFL Building Foundations Fund to support the Foundation’s volunteers initiative, MyClub.

The incentive behind MyClub is to grow opportunities for willing volunteers in Norfolk, as well as bettering and growing our community provision thanks to their voluntary support.

MyClub offers three strands of volunteering; Thrive, Inspire and Achieve, all of which provide different sorts of opportunities to our volunteers. Thrive is predominantly for those looking to get active and help out with our sporting provision, Inspire is for those wanting to lend a hand in our community programmes like Duncan’s Club or Team Talk, and Achieve is for those volunteers with a particular interest in helping out at our fundraising events like Race Against the Sun or Run Norwich.

One of our recent MyClub volunteers is Matt, who opted to volunteer in the Thrive strand of MyClub. Wanting the opportunity to share his football knowledge with a range of young people, as well as give back to his local community, Matt was keen to tell us just why volunteering is so important at the Community Sports Foundation:

“Being involved in bringing the community together and creating a positive impact for both young and older people is important to me. It’s important that I help better my community, sharing my skills and bettering myself as I do so.”

Initially beginning volunteering with the Foundation in 2024, Matt has worked closely with both community football groups and player development groups, sharing his broad football knowledge across the board, something that doesn’t go unnoticed by the Foundation staff. Matt currently volunteers two to three times a week, and has made it his mission to develop his coaching abilities through volunteering, telling us:

“I just want to share my football knowledge and experience with young people, helping them to develop and improve, irrespective of their football ability.”

MyClub aims to give Foundation volunteers the chance to grow and improve their own skillsets, whilst also benefitting their community, providing memorable and standout moments for both participants and volunteers. When we caught up with Matt, he was able to tell us about a few moments that were particularly memorable to him in his year or so volunteering with the charity:

“There’s a couple of key moments that I’ve been particularly proud of since I began volunteering here – the first being the concept creation and implementation of a brand-new community football programme, centred in my local community.

My second highlight would be probably be witnessing the growth of another session I coach at, which is catered for those with diverse backgrounds. Since I begun coaching there, there’s been real growth in both attendances and participant confidence and interaction ,which is great to see.”

Matt discovered MyClub when scrolling through the Foundation’s website, and didn’t hesitate to sign up when he saw the positive influence he’d be having on peoples lives across the county.

“To anyone looking to get involved in volunteering, I’d say join in! It doesn’t matter what age, experience or commitment level you have, there is a place for everyone.

It’s not just about football or coaching, there are so many great things going on and everyone can help in some way. Don’t be afraid to give it a try, the team at the Foundation are really accommodating and will work with you to find the right fit.”

Want to make a difference through MyClub? Find out more below.