Military Resettlement Expo In Colchester Embraces Forces & Football

The 8th Armed Forces and Veterans’ Resettlement Expo will take place on Thursday October 27 at the Jobserve Community Stadium, home of Colchester United FC.

The event series is produced by Pathfinder International magazine – a military resettlement publication distributed monthly to the approximate 19,000 service personnel leaving the forces each year.

Whilst previous Armed Forces expos from Pathfinder have been staged at football stadiums across the UK, taking in St. James’ Park, Newcastle, Ashton Gate, Bristol, St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton and Hampden Park, Glasgow, this event will be the first time football has been incorporated into the event, rather than just be the host location.

Pathfinder International magazine editor, Mal Robinson explains a little further.

He said: “Having staged past events at football stadia around the UK, we wanted to engage more with the football community as we have seen a lot of synergy in the past on a number of levels between the two sectors.

“This time we have included exhibitor stands from hosts Colchester United FC and Community Interest Companies – Military Veterans Football Club and Terraces and Troops.”

The expo has been designed to offer an array of advice to the military service leaver, the veteran community and the wider forces family including opportunities too for spouses and partners.

Over 30 exhibitors will be present on the day including the aforementioned Terraces and Troops and founder Nicola Girling, added: “I spent 12 years taking my son to football training and his matches.

“It was during this period that I noticed there was a strong veteran presence not only amongst football parents, but on the pitch. Many of the coaches and officials, groundskeepers and physios were ex-armed forces.

“Veterans are contributing so much to the physical and mental well being of youths in their local communities through football. My attention soon turned to researching what football was doing for the veteran community.”

Nic goes on to highlight the transferable skills people leaving the military and veterans can offer to the world of football.

“The veteran programmes in place at football club community trusts or foundations not only support veterans’ wellbeing, they also directly impact the future of football. When veterans receive coaching and officiating accreditations through football club training schemes they take their knowledge to our children.

“Veterans have fantastic skills from their years in the armed forces which transfer well to sport. When this is encouraged, it feeds through grassroots, semi-pro and then into pro-football.

“The whole relationship between football and the forces is cyclical and frankly something I am proud of. Our whole focus at Terraces and Troops is to highlight and promote this incredible bond in the hope that it will encourage more of this investment into our veterans, and our communities.”

Colchester United FC will be present as a fellow exhibitor and they will be targeting the military skill set for different roles within the game.

As part of their expo exhibitor statement inside the current edition of Pathfinder magazine, the club wrote: “As a proud supporter of the Armed Forces Covenant, Colchester United Football Club continue to provide discounted match tickets to current serving personnel and those with a discharge letter.

“CUFC are also committed to working with local regiments to provide activities and events to make soldiers and their families deployed in the town welcome as an integral part of their new community.”

The Essex based club added: “Colchester United offer serving and former soldiers employment opportunities, with opportunities currently available in security, grounds team, operations, stewarding, catering and more.”

In an additional statement for fcbusiness, Colchester United summed up the positives of engaging with forces personnel, stating: “With the majority of army personnel coming to Colchester from elsewhere, we feel that it is important to make them feel part of the community for as long as they live in our city.

“For the football lovers amongst them, they will of course already support a football team, but engaging with the local barracks gives them a local option to watch the game they love. And you never know, an extended stay in Colchester could mean they feel a real part of things here and we gain another loyal supporter for Colchester United.”

Many football clubs and associated football businesses have yet to sign the Armed Forces Covenant, which is a pledge to honour and include the vast UK forces community in their work.

Indeed, Pathfinder International magazine has previous experience of advising clubs on the signing of the Covenant and enlisting them onto the Ministry of Defence’s ‘Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS)’, which holds three levels of attainment from bronze to gold status.

In 2019, Pathfinder worked with Sunderland AFC and their charity partner, the Foundation of Light, which saw both parties sign the Covenant and enlist in the ERS.

Speaking at the time, Foundation of Light Chief Executive, Lesley Spuhler OBE, said: “We are proud to sign the Armed Forces Covenant, alongside Sunderland AFC. As well as embedding forces-friendly policies, there are so many ways in which we have been proud to make a difference to Armed Forces communities over the years and it is great that we can now make this support official.”

The final football exhibitor on show at Colchester is Military Veterans Football Club, which adds another element bringing the forces and football to the fore in the form of participation.

They are an example of what signing the Covenant and engaging with clubs and partners can achieve together as Military Veterans FC, Club Secretary Laura Bygate-Pittiglio highlights.

She said: “For many in the Armed Forces, football is a huge part of their lives, whether they play for the Armed Forces’ official teams, casually with their colleagues after work or head to their local football club and support the team…it is a great opportunity to make new friends and socialise.

“Working with Sunderland AFC’s Foundation of Light, we have attempted to recreate the camaraderie and banter within the forces for our local veterans. The support we have received from them has been second to none and following the success of our Sunderland session we have been able to expand our sessions into Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Houghton Le Spring, Liverpool, Crewe, Plymouth and Ipswich, with more sessions starting throughout the UK soon.”

Laura adds: “Working with local football clubs is extremely important to us; many of them have fantastic facilities that serving forces and veterans already access. Being able to facilitate sessions exclusively for veterans has allowed our players to make new friends, reconnect with people they served with previously and improve their mental and physical wellbeing.

“We have veterans of various ages joining us ranging from 25 – 61 and various abilities, no matter their age, gender or ability anyone can play a game and enjoy it.  We are more than a club, we are family.”

It is with this in mind, Pathfinder and editor, Mal Robinson have extended the invite of attending the Armed Forces Expo in Colchester on October 27 to the footballing community too in a bid to cement further the partnerships and shared ethos of working together.

Robinson adds: “With there being a heavy football theme with this particular Forces Expo, I’d like to invite those from the football family with an interest in working with the UK Armed Forces past and present to come along on the day, see for themselves what can be done and also provide a great general networking opportunity at the same time.”

For those with military links and those in the football business arena looking to work with the forces the link to register for the Armed Forces Expo for free is: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/armed-forces-veterans-resettlement-expo-colchester-sponsored-by-nebosh-tickets-311639501137