How Barking FC works to giving young people an opportunity in within the local community, through mentorship on and off the pitch, showing them greater avenues in life.
The club finds itself playing in the Essex senior league after falling out of the isthmian league format in 2022. This followed a season where Barking failed to reach their objectives and found itself relegated, due to poor performances and the instability in leadership on the touchline. The club sits mid-table under a newly appointed manager, Craig Edwards. The players have ambitions to go a step further from last season’s play-off semi-final defeat to Romford and make their way back up to the Isthmian league. However, there is one area where the club has never deviated from or lacked stability: Staying true to their identity in how they play on the pitch and their role as a community hub for the surrounding areas of Mayesbrook Park, home to their newly developed Lawtech Stadium.
Barking Football Club is situated in one of the most renowned areas to the East End, the London borough of Barking and Dagenham. Since 1880, Barking football club has been a beating heart of its local community. Bringing in its loyal follower’s week in, week out even previously known as Barking Institute and Barking Rovers. They also won many trophies in the late 1800s, until it adopted its current name, Barking Football Club, in 1902.
Barking FC are an FA Standard, Chartered, community club run by Chairman and former manager and player, Rob O’Brien and vice chairman and former manager, Mick O’Shea. O’Brien has been at the top of the club hierarchy for 15 years. Throughout his time, O’Brien has made many changes both big and small to grow the club’s stature off-field in developing areas of the ground. Also, the introduced scholarship programme which offers young adults of the community, whose dreams are to make a career in the footballing world whilst achieving top grades in their studies.
The programme has brought some room to develop the club receiving funding from their partnering education boards. Some of football’s brightest young talents and future stars have benefited from the academy set-up since its inception. Isaac Westendorf, 23-year-old German striker came through the ranks as a barking scholar. His hard work and high performances for the club earned him a contract with Premier League giants, Newcastle United. He is now continuing his development in Malta, playing for Balzan FC. Other names Include Max Watters (Barnsley) and their most recent protégé, Addae Paponette, an 18-year-old who has signed with Spanish side Granada CF.
“It’s been an amazing opportunity to work with around 60 talented lads aged 16-19 years old for the last 14 years”, was what Mick O’Shea said when asked about what the academy meant to him and the impact it has on young people within the community. O’Shea takes pride in the work he achieved as academy director and vice-chairman in helping young people from all backgrounds and range of social situations. He gives opportunities to aspiring footballers but also mentors to assist them through their lives off the pitch. He supports their development as well-rounded individuals, not just as athletes. When speaking more on the idea of being a mentor to the young people who come through their academy set-up, O’Shea stated: “They come to us as 16-year-old boys and give it 2-3 years, they leave as 19-year-old men.”
As part of guiding through life, a large responsibility of the academy and the role of the many tutors they put into place in the classrooms and coaches on the field, is to show these young people the wide range of career and job opportunities being in football can offer you. This works as an alternative, acknowledging that only a few who come through will make it on a professional basis. The club also offers some of its graduates an opportunity to give back the club in the form of coaching at the lower grassroot levels. Both O’shea and O’brien offer these former students a chance to take their coaching courses through them and guide them on how to progress through coaching while still proudly representing the East London Blues. “An opportunity to make a bit of money that isn’t stacking shelves.” Said Mick.
When asked how the academy plays a role in laying the foundations for success, it was explained how a lot of their most recent academy players have progressed through their system to now making regular appearances in the u-23s and the first team, highlighting that a couple were in the squad ahead prior to their following home match against Frenford in the Essex senior league.
When questioned about how important it is for the club to continue its role in the local community, Mick O’Shea mentioned a plan that was put in place in 2014 to put a brand new astro turf pitch into the club and by 2020, the £500,000 pitch was completed. Since the instalment, the club has now become what is described as a “Safe haven for the community.” The club keeps its gates open until 10pm every night giving those of all ages the opportunity to have access to a top sports facility. The head of Barking Council cut the ribbon for the new pitch and described the new look home of the Blues, as an “inspirational building.” Picking out that upon opening, he saw the clubs vision: a high-quality sports bar with access view from behind the goal, an educational suite for the youth, aimed at deterring criminal activity outside the ground; and a boardroom/meeting room where the important dealings and transfers can happen. To allow the club to ensure it gets the most out of its aspirations.
With Mick O’Shea’s and Rob O’Brien’s vision supported by the head of the council, the club was given the green light to pursue aspirations and maximise its impact on the community
To conclude the interview, Mick O’Shea was asked if his depiction of Barking FC was the same as counterpart, Rob O’Brien, who described the club as his baby. With a warm smile on his face, Mick replied “Its somewhere you can always find me and somewhere where anyone and everyone is welcome. It is simply a Safe haven “. Him and Rob have no Intention of losing that atmosphere.
It is important to a club like Barking to offer themselves as a safe place for those growing up in the community, especially as it’s located in area of east London where a lot of young adults find themselves roped into a lot of local street and organised crime. The borough of Barking and Dagenham is ranked amongst the top ten most dangerous boroughs in London with 122 crimes being recorded per 1,000 people. Those most committed being those of violence and sexual offences. Barking FC and the incredible work done by both Mick O’Shea and Rob O’Brien in creating an atmosphere for many young people of all ages and genders to go to and feel they can benefit not just physically and mentally from playing football, but also socially. The hub is an incredible way of turning them away from street and organised crime. This place fosters an environment that gives the youth a reason to live and become somebody to be proud of in years to come. The best part is that the club has no intention of slowing down both on and off the pitch, it will continue to be the beating heart of their local community and reward itself with climbing back up the football ladder, as a new-look team under Craig Edwards. Onwards and Upwards for the blues!
