For some members of Sheffield’s Soap Box creative group, it was their first opportunity to watch professional football in person. Sheffield Wednesday supplied a memorable introduction: a 5–0 victory over AFC Wimbledon at Hillsborough.
But the work of bringing people together had begun before anyone took their seat.
Members of Soap Box, run by arts charity Stand & Be Counted, joined forces with Sheffield Wednesday FC Community Programme for a day combining football with creative action against racism. At Parkwood Academy, the group helped lead an anti-racism workshop with the community, alongside a kickabout, before heading to the match.
Could that partnership be any more important? People seeking sanctuary were contributing their ideas and creativity to a shared occasion, helping to shape what welcome looks like in practice.
“Saturday was about bringing people together and bridging any cultural gaps to tackle racism,” said Muetesim Ahmed, one of the day’s facilitators.
“Football is very important to the members in our groups but it can also be hard for them to access as people seeking sanctuary.
“For some, this was also the first professional football match they have been able to watch live – and what a win it was to see!”
Football offers us a common language, but access to its pleasures can't be assumed. Supporting a team, having somewhere to play and joining the crowd on a Saturday are ordinary parts of life for many people. Ahmed’s comments point to how easily those experiences can remain out of reach.
Stand & Be Counted approaches participation through creativity. The UK’s first Theatre Company of Sanctuary, it works with people seeking sanctuary across different ages, primarily in Sheffield, Bradford and Oldham. Soap Box gives adults space to explore their ideas and make work together.
Its Sheffield sessions also address the practicalities of taking part: they're free, with travel expenses covered, interpreters available and a shared meal. Those are the type of rrangements that help turn an invitation into something people can use.
Football has become a recurring thread in the charity’s creative work. Members have designed their own football shirts, which they wore for the Wednesday visit, while a previous collaboration with Sheffield FC produced an anthem celebrating Euro 2024.
A shirt, a song or a workshop can give people a way into a conversation. Here, that conversation concerned the racism that continues to affect the game and the communities around it.
Jacob Walkland, Youth and Integration Officer for Sheffield Wednesday FC Community Programme, acknowledged both football’s possibilities and its failures.
“Football brings people together across backgrounds, cultures and generations. But racism and discrimination still affect players, supporters and communities,” he said.
He described the collaboration as using football to celebrate diversity, respect and belonging, with the aim of ensuring everyone feels welcome and safe.
The day has been an important step to establish that those ambitions can be achieved. What this partnership offers is a practical example of the work involved: making access possible, creating opportunities to meet and giving participants a meaningful role.
For an arts organisation, that work can extend from a creative session to a school playing field and a football stadium. For a club, it means recognising that its place in the city reaches beyond the result.
Wednesday provided five goals. Soap Box’s members brought something of their own: creativity, leadership and a contribution to the continuing task of making Sheffield a place where people can belong.
Find out more about Stand & Be Counted HERE
Photography: Smart Banda at SBC.
