Onwards and Upwards
Local footballer tipped for Premier League
A Shepherd's Bush footballer who began his sporting career at a local 5-a-side soccer project is being tipped for the Premier League.
Albert Adomah began training at a council-run football project in Ravenscourt Park when he was a teenager. He now plays for second division Barnet but has a very promising future ahead of him, according to Barnet FC board member, Paul Fairclough.
“Albert has got a future and a half. If there is a more exciting player in the league then show him to me. Clubs are already looking at him. He has so much belief and he is the sort of player people will happily pay money to see,” Fairclough said.
The 21-year-old player has made 35 appearances for the Bees this season, scoring eight times and he also scored on his League Two debut last year.
He puts much of his success down to his training at the Ravenscourt Park project: “When I was 15 I used to go to Ravenscourt Park when I was bored”, he said. “I asked the street wardens whether I could join the team and they said 'yes'. From there it developed into playing every Sunday for two or three years. I always knew I had the skills to be a professional footballer but the street warden’s project really helped me to develop them.”
Because Adomah showed such promise when he joined the football project, he was encouraged to go for a trial at Old Meadonians FC in Chiswick. From there he got a starting position in Harrow Borough’s first team playing in the Ryman League. He was then snapped up by scouts from Barnet FC in January last year.
It has been a meteoric rise for a young man who started life kicking a ball around in W12. “I would like to thank the street wardens,” said Adomah. “They taught me that with hard work, determination and commitment almost anything is possible.”
The football project, which has been running for six years, originally began as a one-off match between council street wardens and local children. It then developed into a weekly event and now there are regular training sessions every Sunday.
Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s Cabinet Member for Crime & Street Scene, Cllr Greg Smith, says Albert Adomah is a great inspiration to others. “He is a local boy who is carving out a tremendous career for himself. We are now looking for the next generation to follow in Albert’s footsteps and want more young people to become part of our highly successful football project.”
H&F Council’s street warden’s football project runs every Sunday at Ravenscourt Park football pitch from 11.00am to 1.00pm. The project is open for girls and boys aged 11 – 21 years old. Boys who attend the sessions regularly could get the chance to join the Bush Boys five-a-side team.
For more information contact Hammersmith & Fulham Council street wardens on 020 8740 3413 or e-mail allan.richards@lbhf.gov.uk.
20 March 2009
