Salaam Peace helped to stage the inaugural E9 Community Cup football tournament in East London this week.
The user-led community organisation delivers sports and education programmes that aim to foster cohesion, improve wellbeing and inspire beneficiaries.
This latest competition brought together several partner organisations from the E9 area of the capital, and built on work undertaken by Salaam Peace at Nisbet House in Homerton since 2020.
DEVELOPMENT
As well as football, it provides basketball, pop-up tennis and dodgeball sessions for local children and young people, and uses the local community hall for sessions on street safety and personal development.
Dr Sabir Bham, the founder of Salaam Peace, explained: “The E9 Community Cup is an initiative designed and developed by Kelly Edwards from the Hackney Gangs Unit (pictured right), and ourselves.
“Unfortunately, over the last year the E9 area has seen a number of incidents around serious youth violence.
“Both myself and Kelly have a long-standing footprint in the area; Kelly as a resident and growing up here, and myself attending Homerton House School in the 1980s.
“These ASB (anti-social behaviour) issues are not new.”
CONSISTENT
As well as welcoming local young people to participate in the tournament, participants and staff from Nisbet House and Stamford Hill Estate, and further afield from E17, West Silvertown, and Down Lane/Rangemoor Haringey, came together to support the Cup.
Sab added: “Consistent engagement including longer support from the GLA (Greater London Authority), Hackney SNB (Safer Neighbourhood Board), Hackney Housing and Haringey Council, coupled with investment from the Jack Petchey Foundation, means communities can be built.
“Rome wasn't built in a day… but it was built!”
Salaam Peace is calling for more long-term thinking and multi-agency working to build on the opportunities presented by sports-based interventions delivered where they are needed most.
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