His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester visited the borough to view a showcase of exciting club sport activities, which saw young people displaying their tennis, football and boxing skills.

The event took place at Bromley Football Club’s stadium, where the Mayor of Bromley, the Leader of the Council and other guests accompanied The Duke for the visit to see Access to Sport Week in action. The energetic events give eligible children the chance to experience and enjoy new sports that they may not normally engage in.

Councillor Hannah Gray, Mayor of Bromley said: “It has been a delightful visit from His Royal Highness who I want to thank enormously for coming to see some of the fantastic work that is happening in our borough to support our young people, which has been arranged as part of our Platinum Jubilee programme. Ensuring that young people have access to fun activities in a safe, welcoming environment, particularly during the school holidays, is incredibly important to their wellbeing. It is a privilege to have brought together ten vastly different sports clubs for this amazing programme and I thank all those involved and our sponsors for supporting this important work.”  

The Duke of Gloucester enjoyed meeting a variety of young people taking part in a number of different sports, as well as speaking to representatives of the event organisers and invited guests and was shown the trophies from Bromley FC’s triumphant season.

Mark Hammond, Chief Executive Officer at Bromley FC, who hosted the visit, said: “It was an honour to be able to host The Duke of Gloucester for such an important event. Access to Sport Week has made such a valuable contribution to the borough’s young people and I’m pleased that Bromley FC was able to help support this.”

Access to Sport is being delivered in partnership with the Bromley Children and Families (BCF) Voluntary Sector Forum. Some activities are still to take place, with more information available online https://bcfforum.org/Access2Sport/.

Samantha Britnell, Chief Operations Officer at BCF Forum said: “It has been great to see so many joyful children taking part in new sports this week. Today’s Royal visit has really helped to illustrate how important this programme is for the eligible children involved, by providing a safe and nurturing environment to enjoy exciting new activities.”

The Access to Sport programme is being funded by Bromley Council, the Department for Education’s Holiday Activity and Food programme, and by the programme sponsors Direct Line Group.

Mark Evans, Managing Director for Marketing and Digital at Direct Line Group said: “I was so pleased to be able to attend this wonderful visit and see first-hand the difference that Access to Sport Week is making. This programme is a great example of the type of community work we like to support and the young people involved all seem to be having a very enjoyable time.”

Access to Sport providers include Bromley Football Club, Raw Tennis, Gloves Not Gunz, Palace for Life Foundation, MyTime Active, Prolific Striker Academy, Bromley & Downham Boxing Club, CASPA, Bromley Canoe Club, and Lay Witness for Christ International UK.

ENDS

For media enquiries, please contact James George, Public Affairs Officer, on 020 8313 4565 or email james.george@bromley.gov.uk

Published: 28th July 2022