A COMMUNITY football team has shared their delight as they prepare to bring the first women’s training sessions to the East End. Glasgow Saints FC will launch the training programme at Alexandra Park Sports Hub in Dennistoun on Friday May 21 as restrictions on outdoor exercise for adults lift. The club has built strong community roots after being launched in January 2020 and director Kyle Burgess hopes it is this ethos that will drive the new training sessions which are also being offered to men.
Kyle Burgess and Emma Jones from Glasgow Saints FC He believes the new programme will open the door to football for those who may have had barriers in their way. The idea to start women’s football training was accelerated by the tragic murder of Sara Everard in March.
“I get up every morning and look forward to going to my work.” The 55-year-old works full-time with GHA now – after 10 months on the programme. The Croftfoot man added: “This job gives me financial security and means I can make a difference to people. “There are really good training opportunities too – basic computer skills, health and safety, management skills. There are a lot of courses you can apply for. “Tenants often ask me how they could get on Changing Lives and I always tell them to talk to their housing officer.” Jordan came through the programme and is now a team leader in the north-east of Glasgow.
From left: Iggi Keith, Emma Jones and Kyle Burgess from Glasgow Saints MEMBERS of a community football club have scored much-needed cash for a “vital” East End hub. Kind-hearted players and coaches at Glasgow Saints have plenty to shout about after netting more than £3000 for the Everlasting Foodbank. The Dennistoun pantry had its budget cut for providing free meals to young people out of school term due to the pandemic. Saints chairperson Emma Jones said: “When the Covid pandemic hit last year, it hit Glasgow hard. “We found ourselves in the strictest tier of lockdown for what felt like the majority of the year.
IT’S the famous old adage which – despite the best efforts of some – has stood the test of time. Now, one of the city’s newest football teams is doing its bit to prove sport really does more to unite us than divide us by putting the community at the heart of everything they do. For the volunteers of Glasgow Saints FC what happens off the pitch is just as important as events on it and they’ve made it their mission to score support for those less fortunate in the East End. It’s worked, even if 2020 hasn’t been the maiden year chairwoman Emma Jones and head of football Kyle Burgess quite had in mind.