Welcome to Kitunlocker
This year we’re championing a select group of grassroots sports clubs that have a purpose away from the pitch. Clubs that make a big difference to their players and their communities, but might need a bit of a leg up with their kit.
Over the course of the year, we’ll not only be providing them with some incredible new kit. We’ll also be creating content that highlights what makes the clubs special and amplifies their positive messages.
Keep your eyes on this page, where we’ll be housing all of the Kitunlocker content as and when it drops.
SC Wanderers
This isn’t just your usual 11-a-side Sunday League team. SC Wanderers are a club with a difference and one with a purpose that stretches far beyond what happens on the pitch.
SC Wanderers was born at the beginning of the 22/23 season with its own unique values and a set of like-minded players. All determined to get fit and enjoy the beautiful game whilst doing so.
Changing Lives FC
This club is based in Harlow, Essex but it’s players hail from multiple nations, and speak a wide variety of languages. All of them are united by the beautiful game.
Through the universal language of football, FURD provides a sense of belonging to people who may otherwise feel unwelcome in a strange country.
Rara Avis FC
Rara Avis FC are an inner city women’s football club from Leicester founded by friends Lubna Azam and Aisha Hansrot in 2020. Their main objectives are to widen participation and create opportunities for South Asian women and girls in sport.
The club are using regular weekly sessions to break down the traditional barriers and old-fashioned pre-conceptions when it comes to South Asians and sport.
FOOTBALL UNITES, RACISM DIVIDES (FURD)
Founded in 1995, Football Unites, Racism Divides (also known as FURD) is a social inclusion project and charity based in Sheffield that uses football to fight racism and promote diversity in the city.
Through the universal language of football, FURD provides a sense of belonging to people who may otherwise feel unwelcome in a strange country.
Lincolnshire Lancers
With rugby not always proving to be the most inclusive of sports to members of the LGBTQ+ community, Blake Coghill decided to do something about it.
The Lancers provide a safe space where people can feel comfortable in their own skin whilst sharing their love of sport.
Braunton FC Ability
Braunton FC Ability have provided completely free weekly sessions for players who are neurodiverse, have a physical disability or struggle to play mainstream football due to anxiety, depression or communication difficulties.
We met up with them when they decided to go “on tour” to our home city of Sheffield.
Blackpool Football Therapy
What began as a small lockdown kickabout amongst a couple mates in a park has developed, just a few years later, into multiple sessions a week with hundreds of players registered.
The objective of Blackpool Football Therapy is to provide an escape from the trials and tribulations of everyday life whilst kicking away the stigma of men’s mental health.
Yorkshire Disability Cricket
People with disabilities often find it difficult to get involved in sport due to there simply being far less provision than for able bodied people. So when we heard about Yorkshire Disability Cricket, we were really keen to get them involved with Kitunlocker.The team competes in Super 9s cricket against other counties.
Super 9s is a format of the sport which uses a soft ball and is designed to facilitate disabled players and those new to the sport.
Seven Hills School
Over the last 18 months we’ve developed an amazing and incredibly valuable relationship with Seven Hills School, a local Sheffield school for students aged 11 to 19 with special educational needs. On one of their visits to Kitlocker.com, we asked their students to come up with some designs for their new PE kit. They voted for their favourite and we brought it to life for Kitunlocker.
Kick Start FC
Kick Start FC are a football-based mental health charity from Wiltshire. We chatted to trustee Michael Cunningham about how it got started, the impact it’s had, the importance of the right kit, and everything else in between. Click below to read the interview.
6+1 The Movers
A Sheffield based running club who have built a very strong community, bringing together a mix of people from various backgrounds who have a common goal.
Particularly, building friendships and improving their wellbeing with a Saturday morning 5k run.
Nations United FC
Nations United is a football team established to provide refugees and asylum seekers from Chichester, Barnham, and Bognor Regis the opportunity to learn and play football.
They’re part of Sanctuary in Chichester, an organisaton that aims to create a welcoming community for all.
Cambrian United Hot Steppers
A South Wales based women’s walking football team with the aim of increasing football inclusion amongst over 35s in their community. They provide a friendly space for women kick their first football, or for more experienced players to reignite their love for a sport they felt frozen out of.
