Holiday Kicks: City In The Community
Rico Stevens, Malikye Hebhard, & Krystal Livingston, England
Goal Click teamed up with The Premier League and Manchester City’s “City in the Community” programme to tell the inside story of the Premier League Kicks Holiday Activity. Three young people from Manchester - Rico Stevens, Malikye Hebhard, and Krystal Livingston - documented their experiences of the Holiday Activity in December 2020. The initiative brought together 62 professional football club community organisations (CCOs) to support 4,500 eight to 18-year-olds with access to sport and positive activities, as well as nutritious meals. The activity was also supported by Marcus Rashford MBE.
Rico, Malikye, and Krystal wrote about their photos, their football lives, and the City in the Community programme.
Rico Stevens
Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your football life?
My name is Rico and I play football a lot in my life. I’m not that good at it, but I still play. I’ve played football for many years, I just like it a lot, and I’m trying to get better. I like being with my mates, socialising and meeting new people.
What did you try to show with the photos? Was there any wider meaning with the photos?
The people in the photos are people that go to Kicks and our friends. We were doing games at Trinity. I took the photos from behind the net and they end up looking good! They looked professional. People smiling and showing skills with good angles. In one photo we were getting ready to play games and we were walking outside. They were all in a perfect position for me to take the photo.
What is your favourite photo? Why?
My favourite photo is perfectly timed whilst the ball is in the air. It’s the one when Cody is rainbow flicking the ball, it shows his skills with the ball in the air.
Why is football important for your community?
Football is important because there’s a lot of young people that want to be successful when they grow old and football is something that a lot of kids round here like. So, if they didn’t have it in their life, they wouldn’t know what to do.
What does football mean to you? What ambitions do you have for the future?
One of my dream jobs is being a footballer - it could get me to a lot of places in life. It makes me feel very ambitious for the future. I was thinking I want to be a basketballer but if that doesn’t work out…I’m OK at football now, and if I keep going to sessions and practising, I can keep on getting better and better, then that could be a strong option when I’m older.
How did taking part in the PL Kicks Holiday Activity make you feel? What did you like the most?
I liked the games the most because you got to have fun and we were free to do what we wanted. There was something to do. Because of corona, we couldn’t really go anywhere. So, it was an activity that we could do and get exercise every day. It just made me mostly happy, because I could get out the house and do something.
What impact has the City in the Community programme had on you?
It could get me a degree. It’s helped me to get better at football. It has taught me how to play fairly with other people. It’s affected my behaviour in a good way, definitely improved it, because before I started going to the sessions, I used to have a lot of attitude. I wasn’t that respectful to people. I like to go to them because I socialise with a lot of people, it’s started to help my social skills with other people. I just started respecting a lot of other people a lot more.
What do you think the future looks like for football in Manchester and England? What do you want to change?
I would change the racism in football, because there are all different types of people in football. There are black people, African people, Asians, every culture, they all play football. But then people get bullied just because of their race. People do football to try and get away from something or to change something in their lives and other people are just giving them a harder time.
Malikye Hebhard
Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your football life?
My name is Malikye, I’m 12 years old. I started playing football when I was 6 years old.
What did you try to show with the photos?
The photos were taken at my high school called Trinity and show my teammates. The boy with a grey shirt and black phantoms, that’s one of my best friends called Rico. We grew up together. We were playing on 3G grass, and the goals are normal sized goals, what they use in the Premier League. We were doing some activities - matches, tournaments, rondos, some fitness stuff.
What is your favourite photo? Why?
My favourite photos are of the goal and also from behind the person that was throwing the ball onto the pitch. It shows the throw-in technique, we wouldn’t do a bowl or under-arm throw-in, it had to be over your head. It also shows the formation of your team that they are going to be in before you throw the ball in.
Why is football important for your community?
Football is important for our community because sometimes people in our community end up doing crimes. So it’s good to come outside and keep your fitness up and meet new people every day.
What does football mean to you? What ambitions do you have for the future?
Football means a lot to me because if I’m sad or something, I know that I can just go and kick a ball around - or go to a club or youth centre to play football with other people.
I would like to be a professional footballer, because you can help other people with the money you can make - and it’s just a nice sport to play with other people.
How did taking part in the PL Kicks Holiday Activity make you feel? What did you like the most?
It made me feel safe because you know that you’ve got adults with you, so if anything happens you know that you can go to them. You know that you’ve got a good place to go to if you’re bored. I just liked the feeling of the welcome you get when you come. The welcome was warm, and you knew that you had a lot to do there and you can improve your football.
What impact has the City in the Community programme had on you?
It helps because if you play with the programme, you know you can go there to keep up your fitness. And you know that you can train and show people how you play.
What do you think the future looks like for football in Manchester and England? What do you want to change?
It looks quite good for the World Cup because England are doing quite well, and in the Premier League teams are getting better and better. Football in Manchester in the community is good, because you just get out and enjoy yourself.
I would not really change anything in football, apart from the food options. You go on school trips and you just get sandwiches and stuff like that. You get that all the time; we want something new.
Krystal Livingston
Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your football life?
My name is Krystal, I’m 11 and I play football for fun. Football means having fun, socialising, and just playing with your friends. My ambitions for the future are to have a good life and a nice job.
What did you try to show with the photos? Was there any wider meaning with the photos?
I showed people having fun and doing exercise playing football matches at Trinity. I was happy, because I got to be outside and have fun being with my friends. My favourite photo is the one where we are picking teams.
What impact has the City in the Community programme had on you? What are the football opportunities for girls in your community?
The programme makes me feel included in something fun and I am with my friends. There are opportunities to be on the team and have fun. There are lots of different activities in football and to play matches.
Series edited by Emma Walley.
