During May, club legend Lucas Radebe spent an action-packed week in Leeds supporting various important causes across the club and Leeds United Foundation.
The South African, who became an ambassador for the club last September, returned to the UK for a week to watch Leeds’ final two Premier League games of the season, either side of attending plenty of activities for the club and the Leeds United Foundation.
A very popular figure with Leeds supporters, Lucas was able to share his stories and passion for the club with a variety of different audiences throughout the week, providing memorable experiences for people across the city and supporting the work of the Leeds United Foundation.
The first visit of the week was a familiar one for Radebe; taking him back to the Elland Road pitch, but this time it was in support of the NFL Unlocking Potential programme and their play on the pitch event.
More than 250 participants from nine partner schools were able to play a flag football tournament and take on NextGen flag football challenges on the famous turf, celebrating the completion of a third 12-week delivery block in their schools. The students had the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and the skills they have gained, topping off an unforgettable day for them at Elland Road.
On Tuesday, Radebe visited Mount St Mary’s School in Leeds for a Positive Choices session, taking part in Gareth Thompson’s workshop on positive masculinity. The Positive Choices programme aims to enable young people to make better choices about their lives and futures through inviting guest speakers with lived experiences to tell their stories of how negative choices have impacted their lives and the consequences that have followed.
With key themes such as gangs, knife crime, county lines, violence, negative relationships, and child criminal exploitation, Lucas showed his appreciation for the work being done, acknowledging the benefits it had on the students.
Then it was onto a weekly football session at Halton Moor for young people in the community. During the visit, the Leeds United Foundation donated a range of equipment including around 80 kits, with Radebe taking time to meet the participants and sign various items and take photos with them, making it a memorable visit for the youngsters.
Next up for Radebe was a visit to the Foundation’s Ups and Downs session, which is a weekly social group for Leeds United fans to meet up every Wednesday afternoon at Elland Road with like-minded people, to discuss the season and the history of Leeds United. The participants took on a Lucas Radebe quiz before he talked to the group about his career.
The following morning, Lucas got involved with a weekly chair-based exercise session that the Foundation run at Elland Road as part of their Fit Generations programme. Radebe was put through his paces, completing a series of gentle chair exercise with the group and spent time before and after the session speaking with the participants, who were delighted to have him join them.
Lucas also visited The Hunslet Club which is the biggest youth club in the UK. He took part in one of the programme's community flag football sessions and got hands-on with the session, witnessing first-hand the transformative work being done in the local community. The Unlocking Potential programme plays a vital role in providing young people with a positive and structured environment alongside The Hunslet Club team, helping students off the streets and into organised sport.
Radebe’s next visit was to Bishop Young Academy, where he presented some of the students with bikes thanks to the Tesco Stronger Starts scheme. The Foundation’s NextGen leaders also delivered a presentation about care packages they have made for women who have recently been released from prison to provide support, encouragement, and a positive step forward in the next chapter in their lives.
Then Lucas headed to Leeds East Academy and spent time with a group of students before delivering a resilience session in front of nearly 200 year 9 students. Radebe’s visit was a huge success the school and saw an increase in attendance compared to most Fridays.
On Saturday morning, Lucas was on hand in the club shop to meet with supporters for a Pennies activation event, with the Foundation thanking Fanatics and Pennies for their support with their fundraising initiatives. Ben Parker hosted the event which included a Q&A with Radebe, as well as a chance to enter a raffle to win an exclusive retro Leeds United signed Lucas Radebe shirt, for just £10 a ticket. Supporters can still enter the raffle here. (Make a donation to Leeds United Foundation)
