Many of the The Foundry’s 35 programmes use the power of football to deliver their positive messages, and Ferdinand says the sport and the Club will inspire thousands upon thousands of young people to lead healthy, productive and successful careers and, ultimately, lives.
“Football nurtures a lot and I speak about it in myself – my parents laid the foundations, and football and West Ham as a football club nurtured it,” he confirmed. “And this place is going to epitomise that. The stuff that we’ve got going on here, the business studies, activities for people to come and be active on the fantastic pitch – I wish I would have had a pitch like this as a kid – where it can get kids off their tablets and get them more active.
“I think that lays the foundations for life, being able to be educated in a place where they may not feel isolated and feel they can be heard and be seen. You learn in a different capacity when you feel like that.
“So, to have a place like this in the heart of the community in Beckton, which can lay the foundations for kids in life, epitomises what our Football Club is about.
“The way to do that is to have a safe space to come, which this is. Us as a Football Club and the Foundation are at the heart of it, going into communities. We’re a community-driven, community-based Football Club. No matter where we go in the world, we always start in the community because the community is where the heart and loyalty is.”