ABOUT US
NOT YOUR STANDARD FOOTBALL CLUB
Communities that participate in sport and recreation develop strong social bonds, are safer places, and live in them are generally healthier and happier than areas where physical activity isn't a priority. Sport and recreation build stronger, healthier, more comfortable and safer communities.
Lymore Gardens is not your standard football club. Our purpose is community engagement, uniting diverse groups, and igniting individual development. We engage 350 youths and 120 adults through training, fitness, community satellite sessions, and football matches.
We currently have one youth team, a girls' club consisting of five teams, a Women's team, three men's teams, sessions within schools and other community groups for young people with additional needs, and three adult teams.
ENAGE.
INSPIRE. UNITE
We deliver across four different London Boroughs, Waltham Forest, Barnet, Newham and Haringey.
BOROUGH CONNECT
4
We engage over 146 females every week across four boroughs across our 5 girls teams.
WOMEN IN SPORT
146
With 411 members engaged every week, the Lymore family keeps growing strong.
LYMORE FAMILY
411
Lymore Gardens F.C. is a pillar of the community our offerings include comprehensive training, fitness, football community sessions, and matches involving men’s, women’s & girls.
COMMUNITY PILLAR
LONDON BOROUGH OF WALTHAM FOREST
HOME
Waltham Forest is home, and it is also 13th in the London Borough IMD chart, meaning there's an increasing amount of unemployment, crime, single parents, and drug and alcohol abuse. We are focused on helping communities achieve sustainable change in their lives. Sport and community are our approaches to bringing people together.
We are efficient and effective in everything we do. We are ambitious about Lymore Gardens' growth and potential for more significant impact.
Social prescribing is a way for us to build and use our network and partnerships with other organisations to give people time, focusing on 'what matters to me (Them)' and taking a holistic approach to people's health and well-being. We connect people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support for all community members, including Black, Asians and minority, those on the peripherals of becoming gang members, single parents and the unemployed.
As a club, we have developed partnerships over the years such as Sported, Barclays, Deliveroo, Puma Teamwear, Mortgage Advice Bureau, Playfinder, Waltham Forest Council, Active Newham, and Leyton Orient to meet our purpose and in the hope of building a club that reaches semi-pro status, continue in developing our communities and inspire individual growth.
Sported
Whilst Lee is a member of the Sported network, where the club has access to free capacity-building support and first access to funding streams, Lee is also responsible for rebranding Sported and helping them achieve its vision and purpose through design. This perfect partnership helps Lymore Gardens secure funding and helps direct our strategy to complete a sustainable business long-term.
London Legacy Development Corporation
Lymore Gardens F.C. has referred over ten young people (ages 14-25) to the London Legacy Youth Voice & Future Youth, Future Me Programme, which helps direct what the community wants to see within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Twntyfour also supported London Legacy's design needs to engage young people in their network.
ESSEX ALLIANCE LEAGUE STATUS
MORE THAN SPORT
Lymore Gardens F.C. has played within the Essex Alliance Football League (a feeder league to the Thurlow Nun FL) for the last six seasons. Within this time, we have risen from division two to the E.A.L. Senior League, winning a domestic cup and constantly finishing within the top four. Our ethos Together Everyone Achieves More (TEAM) speaks to our understanding of the importance of teamwork.
CHANGING LIVES THROUGH FOOTBALL
GROWTH
As our club grows, climbing the F.A. tiers, engaging more community members, and getting them into employment, we are looking to partner with brands, local businesses, and other organisations to help push our purpose to change lives through football.
LYMORE WELCOMES EVERYONE
IT'S A LYMORE THING
We are looking for players for our first, reserves and Sunday teams. All players will have a chance to play in a competitive and ambitious squad. All training will take place together with the opportunity to learn the GRDNS style of football, offering opportunities to play at a higher level.
OUR FOUNDER
Our founder, Lee Benjamin, is a serial social entrepreneur who builds businesses that socially benefit people and challenge the status quo. Lee has a background in youth and community work, working for Waltham Forest Council for eight years, delivering on the troubled families agenda for the youth service and early help team, and is currently working closely with Leyton Orient Trust to provide the new 'Chances; programme exclusively in Waltham Forest. He is also the founder and CEO of TwntyFour, a design agency powering the club's brand-led experiences, with Lee's specialism in design, branding, digital social impact and 'phygital' (physical and digital) experiences.
Lee has a strong passion for strengthening the community and uses sports and community as a vehicle to bring people together for a common purpose.