Some things take longer when you’re building them properly.
Our 2024/25 Impact Report is our first one. Not because we haven’t been doing the work. Not because impact only started this year, but because we’re a small organisation doing big work with limited hands, limited hours, and a lot of heart.
In footballing terms, we’re a League Two side in the bottom half of the table, drawn against a Premier League giant in the FA Cup. We’ve taken them to extra time, we’ve taken them to penalties and we still fancy winning it.
When you’re close to the ground, in communities, on pitches, in conversations, and showing up week after week, reports often get written after the session ends, after the funding application is sent, after the kit is packed away.
So yes, it’s taken time, but we think it matters that it exists and hope you do too.
This report is more than numbers on pages. It’s proof of what can happen when people are seen, backed, and given space to belong. It’s a record of trust built slowly. It’s evidence that football, when done differently, can change lives. It also has a couple of (design) errors, but we thought hey, we’re not perfect and we can’t afford another iteration on the design, so here it is, warts and all…
We celebrate the big wins.
The obvious wins, the projects delivered, the young people engaged, new partnerships built, displaced and disadvantaged communities reached and doors opened. Our main projects were with Crew Club Hawks in Whitehawk, Zonal, our design and football project and Away From Home, our refugee and asylum seeker project. All game changing for those who participated, but the secret is in the follow up, the ‘what’s next’, because as soon as a project has been delivered, we have to try and find the money to keep things going. That’s the reality of life as a small non profit trying to do big things.
But we also celebrate the quieter wins.
The young person who came back after saying they wouldn’t.
The player who tried out for the first time and wanted to come back.
The child who smiled for the first time in weeks.
The friendships formed.
The voice that got louder.
The anger that softened.
The belief that returned.
The new language learnt.
The confidence built.
And no sign of AI anywhere…
Why this report matters
VYD exists because too many people are locked out, by cost, postcode, background, trauma, displacement, or systems that were never built for them.
We believe football should belong to everyone and be fair, inclusive and accessible. A place where people can grow, heal, lead and feel part of something bigger.
This report tells the story of how we’ve tried to live that belief over the last year.
It speaks about our work with displaced communities, young leaders, grassroots clubs, and neighbourhoods too often overlooked. It shows how sport can create connection, confidence, wellbeing and opportunity when it’s rooted in people, not ego.
We’re proud, but we’re not finished.
This isn’t a victory lap, it’s an important checkpoint for us, for the people we work for.
There’s more to build and more to learn and improve. More communities to stand beside, more barriers to break down.
We know our reporting will get better and our reach will grow, our systems will sharpen.
But the heart of it stays the same: Real people, real places, real impact.
Thank you to everyone who has backed us, challenged us, trusted us, funded us, volunteered with us, partnered with us, and believed in what VYD can be.
This is the first report, not the first chapter.
Read the full 2024/25 Impact Report here
