"Sunk below street level, where gold and rust coloured leaves obscure passing city centre traffic is a remarkably unremarkable pitch where life-changing games are played weekly. The thud of footballs hitting the cage surrounding the artificial turf, goal celebrations and the shouts of two excited teams is the soundtrack to every Thursday afternoon at St Margaret's Pasture Sports Centre on the edge of Abbey Park in Leicester."
"But for this group of men, who are brought together by Leicester City's 'Goal Difference Programme', it has proven to be a place of salvation - where caring for mental wellbeing meets football. "Without this I wouldn't have the connections I have now," Sanchez Webb told BBC Sport when asked how life-changing the programme has been for him. The programme is run by Leicester City in the Community, the charitable arm of the Championship football club."
St Margaret's Pasture Sports Centre hosts weekly matches on an artificial-turf pitch where men gather through Leicester City's Goal Difference Programme to support each other's mental wellbeing. The programme pairs Thursday football sessions with Tuesday discussion meetings at King Power Stadium, combining physical activity, teamwork and structured conversation. Participants often face housing instability and long-term struggles, and the sessions provide social connection, positivity and practical coping outlets. Organisers from Leicester City in the Community run the initiative as a charitable effort to foster comradery, resilience and recovery. Regular rotation of teams encourages building new relationships and shared accountability.
Read at www.bbc.com
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