Tigers Junior Football roars to prestigious London Sport Awards

Tigers Junior Football Club continue to roar in the capital after celebrating a ‘lofty’ gong at the London Sport Awards on Monday night.

Under the leadership of chairman Keith Di Palma, the club transformed the game at grassroots level and have now been recognized for their efforts with the Enhancing the Workforce Award in association with Chipotle.

Tigers JFC, based at Bretons Outdoor Center in South Hornchurch, were crowned winners ahead of The ACE Program Charity and StreetGames for the award at the high profile event at the Guildhall.

The club revolutionized grassroots sport in the region and after establishing its groundbreaking Futures program in 2014, created a vital lifeline for young football fans with a passion for coaching and referees.

Tigers have already trained more than 20 youngsters to become qualified referees and Di Palma, 53, hopes their well-deserved success can be a springboard for even more growth in the future.

He said: “To have it recognized is just great.
“In our area we are held in high esteem by our local counties who care about us, think and say how well we have worked for them – and that’s the icing on the cake.

“Even when we were nominated we were over the moon but that makes other clubs look at how we get our young leaders, our youth, to keep them off the streets.

“It recognizes that we give them the independence, motivation and confidence from the age of 14 to 16 to be able to be coaches and referees, which is a daunting task, and also get them up to speed when they too The latter get part of their active days to continue in football.”

Over the past five years, the annual London Sport Awards, in partnership with the City of London Corporation, have grown to become the largest celebration of grassroots and community physical activity and sport in the city.

And this year’s flagship event recognised, celebrated and once again highlighted the stories of the incredible individuals, groups and organizations for their outstanding work across the capital in helping Londoners of all ages and backgrounds to be physically active.

Rachael Weseloh, European Marketing Manager for Chipotle, sponsor of The Enhancing the Workforce Award, said: “It’s truly amazing to be able to support all the wonderful people and organizations that support sport in London and make it possible across the capital.

“The last year has been so tough so it’s been amazing to see how people have excelled during this time.

Thank you to everyone who sent congratulations last night and all day today.
It honestly still hasn’t sunk as we were all speechless when @TigersJFC shouted. We are so proud of our futures for winning the @LondonSport Enhancing The Workforce Award sponsored by @ChipotleUK pic.twitter.com/SRmPs885en

December 7, 2021

“As a brand, we try to lead a healthy lifestyle and that feeds into the way people live.

“Being a part of the Tigers journey is amazing – the excitement behind the day-to-day activities has been immense. They really make a case for transferring the positive impact of sport on life.”

British Cycling’s Colin Walker, an awards judge, added: “I’m at a loss for words. As a juror it was an honor to read all the applications of the amazing work in London.

“It was impressive to see how much time and people volunteered and dedicated themselves to getting more people involved in the sport.

“The decision was difficult but seeing Keith and his team show up and accept the award was a great moment.”

The London Sport Awards, in partnership with the City of London Corporation, shines a spotlight on the unsung heroes of the community who are helping Londoners of all backgrounds reap the benefits of physical activity and sport. Find out more about the awards and how London Sport aims to make London the most physically active city in the world www.londonsport.org #MakeYourBrand