University of Westminster Sports Management BA Honours student Elias Fazli is originally from Denmark and has become an inspirational football coach in London, uplifting communities through sport. Starting as a nervous volunteer at the age of 16 for sportsfun4all in Downham, he grew in confidence and now serves as the team’s Head Coach. Looking back at his experiences, he speaks about his journey and the importance of supporting the community.
How did you get involved with sportsfun4all?
I found out about sportsfun4all from a weekend session they were delivering at my local park. I would always see them training and my little brother was one of the participants. I asked the CEO Kieran Connolly if he wanted to take me on as a coach and he gave me the chance to volunteer in order to gain experience.
Could you tell me about your journey from joining sportsfun4all to now?
My journey began with two hours of volunteering on Saturdays and Sundays when I was in year 11. I volunteered for about three months before getting my first paid role which was a summer holiday camp in July 2021. I then volunteered some more until Christmas 2021 where I coached at another football holiday programme. Since then I have been receiving more and more responsibilities and now am a Lead Coach and run various sessions around my local area of Lewisham. It is a challenging yet rewarding role to be head of the football sessions but I enjoy working with the young people and giving them a place to enjoy themselves.
What has been your best moments since you joined?
Some of my best moments have been building relationships with young people and providing them with free football sessions where they are in a safe space to play with their friends. The thing I enjoy the most is taking the young people to tournaments where they are able to compete against other organisations.
Why did you choose to study Sports Management at the University of Westminster?
I chose to study Sports Management as I thought it was a suitable career for me due to my coaching experience and I have an interest in the business side of sport. The things I like about studying here at the University of Westminster is that you can build relationships with the lecturers as they are very friendly and are always looking to give you opportunities.
What have been your favourite memory at Westminster?
I would say my favourite memory from my time at Westminster was when we went on a trip which was a tour of Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium.
What are your hopes for the future?
My hope for the future is that I will be working in a role which I enjoy and believe I can have an impact on people. Football coaching is a potential career path for me however, I enjoy the business side of sports so hopefully that will be a good path.
What would you say to anyone who was in the same position as you to give them the confidence to give something like sportsfun4all a try?
The thing I would say to someone in a similar position to what I was in is to stick with it all the way as you never know where it could lead you. Follow what you enjoy and what you believe you’re good at. Sportsfun4all is important as it reduces barriers to play football by giving young people a supervised place to come to play football for free. I think this is very important for wellbeing as it is giving people a chance to do something they love while feeling safe and secure.
Find out more about studying Sports Management BA Honours at the University of Westminster.
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