FOOTBALL is increasingly being recognised as a valuable tool for practical mental health therapy, and MFC Foundation is very much at the forefront of this endeavour.

MFC Foundation’s ‘Think with Your Feet’ mental health football sessions have rapidly expanded since they began in February 2015 and this is mainly due to the ever growing partnership with MIND and their ‘Get set to go project’ which refers service users into our weekly football sessions.

As well as weekly football session participants are also given the opportunity to represent MFC Foundation in national competitions ran by similar initiatives at other football clubs.

The team, currently ranked 1^st in the country after winning the National Mental Health Championships hosted by Everton in the Community, have won a range of silverware this year after wins in Northampton, Derby and Rotherham. Alongside this a group of participants were lucky enough to go to Munich, thanks to fundraising and sponsors, and compete in the EASI-Regenbogen-Cup which they also won in extra time.

The impact of the sessions goes above and beyond keeping fit and playing football.

“Not so long ago, I tried to kill myself and was also harming myself. Now, through football and MFC Foundation’s football team I can see a point to my life. I enjoy spending time there and have made loads of friends. All the lads and the coaches are superb, I love playing with MFC Foundation – I love the Boro, but not as much as the Boro loves me.” – Think With Your Feet participant

We also hold an annual Social Inclusion tournament, which this year alongside Everton’s National Championships, was the joint biggest tournament in the UK attracting teams from as far as Carlisle and Wrexham.

If you would like to know more, please email enquiries@mfcfoundation.co.uk

Friend of the Foundation Land of Iron have teamed up with Redcar Athletic Football Club to create the inaugural Steel & Iron Cup in Redcar.

With support from Tees Valley Combined Authority, the event, at Redcar Athletic’s Green Lane ground, will run on Friday 19^th and Saturday 20^th July 2024.

The idea stems from a conversation between staff at Land of Iron and Redcar Athletic around the historic Bury Cup – a football tournament at Skinningrove’s ironworks which ran from 1912 until 1972 between teams from former and current iron and steelworking communities.

With a firm focus on industrial heritage, and how sport and recreation played a large part within iron and steel communities, this year the pre-season trophy will be contested between Redcar Athletic and Barrow-in-Furness’ Holker Old Boys on Saturday 20^th July at 1pm.

Holker Old Boys were formed in 1936 and are based in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. With a long tradition of iron mining and steelmaking in the area, they were the perfect choice for this inaugural fixture between the east coast and west coast teams.

On Friday 19^th July a free Heritage day will take place at Redcar Athletic with music, stalls, and family activities. Land of Iron’s Mine on the Move display, Teesside Archives, British Steel, Teesworks, Unite the Union, Community Union, and MFC Foundation – including an appearance by Middlesbrough FC’s Roary the Lion. Doors will open to the public at 3pm with a range of activities running until 6pm.

From 7pm, a panel of experts on industrial heritage will take part in a discussion around iron and steel making on Teesside, how our industry helped build the infrastructure of the world in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, and how our shared heritage feeds into the future of industry on Teesside today and into the future.

A chance conversation between Ryan McKnight, Managing Director of Redcar Athletic and Nick Wesson, Marketing Manager at Land of Iron began the whole process. For Land of Iron, the chance to work with Redcar Athletic on such an exciting project was too good an opportunity to turn down.

Marie Woods, Chief Executive of Land of Iron, said: “Since Land of Iron re-opened to the public in 2023, we have reached out to, and worked with, our community as much as possible. Our aims are not only to preserve our iron and steel heritage for future generations, but to engage people with our local history in different and new ways. Partnering with Redcar Athletic to create the Steel & Iron Cup is a brilliant way for us to make history relevant to more people and to celebrate the social history of our area too.”

Ryan McKnight, Chief Executive of Redcar Athletic Football Club added: “Redcar Athletic are The Steelmen and this launch event is hopefully the start of a fantastic annual event that will celebrate the heritage of our steel making and iron mining history.

“We are grateful to Holker Old Boys of Barrow – a town which has a proud steel making history of its own – for supporting the weekend.

“We’re calling on everyone with a direct or family connection to the steel works or iron mining – and if you don’t, come and find out more about our local history – to come down to Green Lane on the 19^th and the 20^th July as it will be a fantastic event.”

Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen commented: “Our area has an incredible industrial heritage and is it important we pay tribute to that history as we also look forward. The Steel and Iron Cup is a fantastic way of celebrating that past and I look forward to this being the start of a great annual event bringing together steel communities from across the country.”

The Steel & Iron Cup football match will take place between Redcar Athletic and Holker Old Boys at 3pm on Saturday 20^th July and will also feature stalls and entertainment at the ground from 12pm. Entry is £5 adults / £3 concessions / £2 under-16s. Tickets can be purchased on the day.

Entertainment on Friday 19th is free of charge.