Foundation tournament spreads important message on knife crime

Yesterday (Friday 16 August), our Foundation hosted an annual tournament in memory of Godwin Lawson, continuing to help keep alive the memory of a promising young footballer who tragically lost his life to knife crime in 2010.

The event at Aylward Academy in Enfield was attended by some 160 teenage boys and girls from the local area and beyond, serving as another important opportunity for education around the consequences of knife crime.

Our Foundation has been working with the Godwin Lawson Foundation – set up by Godwin’s mum, Yvonne, to commemorate her son’s life and help convey anti-knife crime messages – for the past 13 years.

Yvonne said: “We’ve engaged 5,000 young people since we launched and our partnership with Tottenham Hotspur Foundation has been a big part of that.

“It’s been incredible to be able to use Godwin’s memory and his passion, football, to once again bring together so many young people to play, build their teamwork skills and enjoy themselves.”

A participant from our Foundation’s Premier League Kicks programme, Andreas, 14, said: “Instead of staying at home playing games, here I’ve been playing football with my friends and meeting other teams. The speech from Yvonne inspired me to think about not only football, but also life away from football.”

Another participant, Taliah, 12, said: “The speech from Yvonne meant a lot to me. Knife crime can end people’s lives, so it’s a big thing. I think the work in memory of Godwin Lawson is really important. I feel grateful and happy to be here.”

The tournament meant a lot to many people in the local community, with some showing their support by taking a day off work to volunteer.

Zoe Ireo said: “This is a topic I’m passionate about and it’s been really encouraging seeing different organisations like the Met Police and Kick It Out coming together to help run engaging workshops in between the football.”

Members of the Young People’s Action Group that works alongside London’s Violence Reduction Unit – the funder of the Foundation’s Tottenham Futures life skills and development programme for youngsters – were also among those engaging participants.

Clara said: “Coming to events like this and seeing all the youth involvement is really positive, especially knowing how violence can spike in the summer. Having funding going towards initiatives like this can have very positive and beneficial effects for these children, and allow them to make memories that last forever, in a positive way.”

Captain Peter Baker, deputy lieutenant for Haringey, who also attended, added: “I’m privileged to support today, as an event that’s trying to tackle the very difficult situation of young people being tempted to carry knives and the consequences of those decisions that can affect the rest of their lives in a very negative way."