Winning in White City: QPR in the Community Trust
QPR in the Community Trust CEO Andy Evans speaking at a Trust event.
QPR in the Community Trust – the charitable arm of Queen’s Park Rangers Football Club – is playing a vital role in the local White City community. Over its 30-year span, this grassroots Trust has created a blueprint that demonstrates the power of football to promote positive change.
Established in 1994 and obtaining charitable status in 2009, the Trust works across seven London boroughs to provide opportunities aimed at improving health, education, social inclusion and participation for all ages.
Driven by local needs and with the support of its partners, funders and stakeholders, the Trust is committed to tackling national issues at a local level. Each year, the Trust works within the local community to engage over 23,000 participants, with a core focus on driving positive physical and mental health for all and supporting young people to reach their full potential. We spoke with QPR in the Community Trust CEO Andy Evans to learn more about the charity’s history, its stand-out projects, and to explore how White City Innovation District organisations can get more involved and connect with this important community.
TRUST HISTORY
Nestled in the streets of the White City estate – a stone’s throw from Wood Lane – is the iconic home of the mighty Super Hoops. Established as a club in 1882, Queen’s Park Rangers made Loftus Road (now known as the MATRADE Loftus Road Stadium) its permanent home in 1917. With a palpable sense of pride in its reputation as a welcoming and inclusive family club, the EFL Championship contenders have grown deep roots in White City. The club has built a thriving community around its strong club identity and W12 footprint – focused to the north of the Hammersmith and Fulham and White City area.
In 1994, lifelong QPR fan Andy Evans was one of four QPR Community Officers who started what went on to become the QPR in the Community Trust as we know it today. Now CEO of the Trust, Andy led the move 15 years ago to acquire charitable status for the Trust, and now oversees its wide-ranging programme of fundraising and community activities, in a role that he describes as his “lifetime’s work”.
“My journey with QPR began as a 6-year-old,” Andy explains. “I was born in Queen Charlotte Hospital and my grandmother lived on the White City estate. Whenever we visited my gran, we also came to watch QPR play. So I fell in love with the Super Hoops at a very young age and I soon realised that sport, and particularly football, was where I wanted to be.”
By the mid-1990s, football in the community initiatives were gaining considerable traction across the country. These new programmes sought to capitalise upon the growing public interest generated by the Italia ’90 FIFA World Cup and followed a period of significant structural changes within football itself. This era saw significant improvements to stadium safety and effective moves to eradicate the blight of football hooliganism that had plagued the game in the 1980s.
QPR’s own community trust was kick-started in 1994 by direct funding from the Professional Footballers Association (PFA), stemming from the lucrative TV deals that trickle down to many clubs and divisions. Under Andy’s stewardship, the Trust also began to benefit from successful grant and foundation applications to fund programmes locally and, as the third arm of funding, from a succession of regular fund-raising initiatives – from selling unique experiences to sponsored marathons by supporters and auctions of official team kit donated by the players. These three crucial revenue streams are today funding new opportunities for people at every stage of life.
COMMUNITY IMPACT
“The support we offer really does reach all ages within this community,” Andy says. “We’re currently present in all primary schools in the area delivering both football and literacy and numeracy programmes.” He adds: “We also offer secondary school-based programmes working directly with students who need extra help. Another key focus is delivering open access activities through our youth and community work, providing young people with football opportunities on a Friday night in a safe space, for example.”
Clockwise from top left: 1) Tiger Cubs team pictured with supporters having raised over £13,600 in the Tiger Feet annual fund-raising walk earlier this year*; 2) a young Tiger Cubs player with a member of the QPR squad at the QPR Fanszone**; 3) Jimmy Dunne wins the PFA Award; 4) celebrating Mental Health World cup success; 5) half-time penalties for the QPR mascots (Queens Park Rangers v Coventry City, EFL Sky Bet Championship, 30th Sep 2023***); 6) QPR celebrates the Open Iftar event
Another hugely popular youth programme is the Trust’s team for children and young players with Down’s Syndrome, dubbed the Tiger Cubs. Every Spring, the Club hosts its annual Tiger Feet match day walk – now in its 15th year – aimed at raising the £20,000 in funds that keeps the Tiger Cubs going each year. For young players and their families, the team provides not only an opportunity to play a game they love, but also a unique venue to have fun, make new friends and learn the value of teamwork.
For senior members of the community, the Trust organises a series of well-attended Extra Time hubs across four different locations, offering people aged 70 years and older the chance to socialise and take part physical activities, such as aerobics. As part of its offer to senior citizens, the Trust even puts on an annual Christmas lunch and arranges summer day trips.
Reflecting on the success of all these programmes, Andy thinks the club’s close connection to its fans and to its community is part of the secret. “I think there’s an authenticity and a realness to what we do at the Trust,” he observes. Throughout the last seven years, QPR has worked closely with Grenfell United and Grenfell Foundation on a number of initiatives to support those who were affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Andy continues: “We get involved in all issues that impact upon people’s lives within our community. We are very active in addressing the challenges that face our young people, including inner city challenges, which have been particularly acute post-COVID. Today we’re working with some of the most challenging young people in the borough, referred to us by the Youth Offending team. We currently have six mentors, each have a caseload of 20-30 young people, who work with us to help these youngsters on their journey to a more positive lifestyle. The impact that we’re having is something we’re really proud of.”
QPR in the Community Trust achievements in numbers
FUTURE GOALS
With White City undergoing dramatic growth and investment, Andy feels that it’s an exciting time and notes that there’s a whole range of ways in which organisations in White City Innovation District could work hand in hand with the Trust. From supporting development of its Women’s team to hosting its annual Open Iftar during Ramadan, the club and Trust is hoping to inspire engagement from local residents, stakeholders and potential partners from far and wide – those who live and work in the area and beyond.
As the area is growing and changing so, too, is football: “The journey that I’ve personally been on demonstrates that football clubs have become much more aware of their role in the local community, and the difference that we can make,” Andy adds. “Going forward, football can play an increasingly pivotal role in delivering pledges around health, for example, and encouraging people to take control of their own health and wellbeing.”
He concludes: “Football clubs have the ability to get to those parts of the community that don’t historically engage – we are trusted. We are longstanding institutions that have been part of the community for generations. So I see our work in White City only growing, intensifying and becoming more targeted.”
Find out how to get involved and support the work of QPR in the Community Trust by contacting Andy Evans.
To donate directly to the Trust, head to the GoFundMe page. All donations are gratefully received and help to sustain current projects, innovative new initiatives and further support the local community.
The annual Tiger Walk in support of the Tiger Cubs will return next Spring – keep an eye on the QPR in the Community Trust webpage or subscribe to the newsletter for details.
*Credit: Photo by Ian Tuttle/Shutterstock (14421001gj)
**Credit: Photo by Ian Tuttle/Shutterstock (14421001it)
***Credit: Photo by Dave Shopland/Shutterstock (14130928dc)
All other images copyright of Queen’s Park Rangers Football Club.
