Youth Iftar event at Arbour Park

More than 200 people turned out to enjoy a Youth Iftar event at Slough Town Football Club at the weekend, writes Sam Leech.

The day saw more than 100 youngsters kick off a football tournament on the Arbour Park pitch, followed by prayers, speeches and a meal.

During the month of Ramadan, Iftar is the fast-breaking evening meal.

The Youth Iftar, a free event, was held in partnership between Slough’s Jamia Masjid Islamic Centre (JMIC), Slough Youth Action, Slough Town F.C. and Berks and Bucks Football Association.

Umar Ansari, trustee at Slough JMIC said: “This was the first time a mosque has partnered with Slough Town Football Club in history of Slough, so for us it was a really exciting and fantastic opportunity.

“We [JMIC] have been here a long time and for some reason this hasn’t happened before, but the community really raised the bar with this first event.”

Umar said the Iftar event was aimed at providing opportunities and inspiration to young people at a time when youth services in Slough were facing cuts.

He added: “The purpose behind this was really to give youngsters an opportunity to visit Slough Town Football Club - to dream and think a bit bigger and think one day they might be able to play for the club.

“The location, the excitement and the buzz among the children that day – it really was an exciting experience for them.”

Slough Youth Action, another of the groups behind the event, was started in December 2022 by parents who wanted to provide free opportunites for young people following the death of a friend who was stabbed in Slough.

It holds a youth club in JMIC and also hosts regular football sessions for kids.

A spokesperson from the organisation said: “It was a really fantastic day, lots of kids came out and the weather was really good - considering what we’ve had recently – the only worry we had was the food.”

“We had capacity for 250 and I was thinking, oh no we’re going to have to stop this, but thankfully we had plenty to go around.”

Attendees enjoyed a selection of curries as well as pizza and chicken for the Iftar meal.

The spokesperson added: “This was a team event, a group effort, everyone went above and beyond – Slough

Town Football Club, they were unbelievable hosts.”

Adrian Gomm, Community manager at Slough Town said:

“The feedback we’ve had has been overwhelming - kids loved it and parents loved it - and we’ve already been contacted to see whether we can do something else in the future.”

To find out more about Slough Youth Action’s future events and how to get involved, email: sloughyouth action@gmail.com