The doors have opened on a new community hub spearheaded by Everton FC’s official charity.
Local residents were offered a chance to see the purpose-built facility in the shadow of Goodison Park first-hand ahead of its Spring completion.
Everton in the Community (EitC) have created a ‘community campus’ that they believe will meet the needs of all members of the local community.
Not only will it become the charity’s offices but also represents the Premier League club’s ongoing commitment to regeneration in the Walton area.
Located on Spellow Lane, a short walk from Goodison, the facility will cater for all ages with a studio area, multi-function rooms, a cafe and a family area.
Another key feature will be the Cruyff Court, which will provide a free-to-use football pitch as part of a partnership with the Johan Cruyff Foundation.
Several of EitC’s award-winning projects will be housed in the Hub during the day while it will provide specific community interventions in a more intimate environment in evenings.
It will also be available as a meeting place for Everton supporters on match days at Goodison.
“It’s been a long period of work that the club and the charity have been undertaking,” Phil Duffy, EitC’s executive director, told Click Liverpool.
“Even before ideas of buildings like this, Everton in the Community existed to bring to life the values and, I would say, the moral purpose of the football club at using sport as a powerful agent to create change in people’s lives for the better.
“What we have now is physical signs of that. We have the [Everton Free] School next door, we now have this building, we have two houses on Goodison Road which are focused on very important social work through the charity.
“Soon we’ll have the old parish social club of St Francis de Sales, and its main focus will be disability.
“We have got a fantastic campus in a way and that’s what we’re trying to bring – the idea that the club and it here so it is part of the same package and not just a series of independent venues.
“We’re all working on the same thing and that’s working to change lives for the better, to save lives in some cases and to encourage our local neighbours and community that there is something important about being part of Everton in the Community.
“It has given us a physical base and a message to people that Everton Football Club is serious about investing in this area. It wants to support people.
“Football today is in a privileged position and what we’ve seen from a club like Everton is that it’s actually plowing back into the community a lot of resources such as this and that makes a huge difference to people’s lives.”
Everton legend Graeme Sharp, now a club ambassador, was at the club when EitC was founded in 1988 and among those who took a first look at the facility.
He said: “I think we’re well renowned for our community work
“But I think this is a fantastic building and hopefully it will be the hub of the local community. It offers so much.
“When you think how far Everton in the Community have come from, they were in a little hut in the Park End car park when they first started.
“To come to this shows you how well it’s been run. But we’re well aware as a football club what the community means and that’s why we’ve been so active over the years, and this is the icing on the cake.
“We run all sorts of programmes but it’s nice to get the community in and to use a building such as this.”
“We’ve got two massive football clubs in this city and Everton in particular are well aware of the community and how much it means to the club,” he added.
“They follow us and they have done for hundreds of years so we’ve got to give something back.
“Our programme in the community has been fantastic over the years and has gone from strength to strength.
“We’re delighted as a football club to look at the community side of things.”