Welcome Through Football receives SFA South-East Award!

Our project for young refugees was recognised by a regional award from the Scottish Football Association!

Big Hearts, the official charity of Heart of Midlothian FC, is delighted to have received an award as part of the 2022 Scottish FA Regional Grassroots Awards.

Our project ‘Welcome Through Football’ was recognised in the category “Best Community Football for All Project” for the Scotland South-East Region: ‘a community based project which has succeeded in encouraging Football for All which may include creating opportunities for people from underrepresented backgrounds, disadvantaged areas and/or has demonstrated strong growth in participation’.

As the only organisation hosting the project in Scotland, Big Hearts are proud of this fantastic achievement which coincides with the first full season of Welcome Through Football at Tynecastle Park.

The initiative was launched by the European Football for Development Network and uses the beautiful game as a tool to improve the social inclusion and wellbeing of refugee and asylum seekers in 6 countries.

The 2022 Scottish FA Regional Grassroots Awards, supported by McDonald’s and the Sunday Mail, aim to recognise and reward people across the country that make a difference to grassroots football in their local community.

In line with our ambitions to further equal opportunities, Big Hearts have so far helped over 50 New Scots build friendships, accessing further education or employment to re-build their lives in Edinburgh.

To find out more about the project, click here.