canaries.co.uk OTBC 69

IF all has gone to plan, I should be refereeing a match between the Down’s Syndrome teams of Norwich

and Newcastle before today’s Premier League clash between those two clubs.

It’s over at Carrow Park, across the car park from the Jarrold Stand, if you’re reading this in time for the 1pm kick-o� .

It is one of several events and activities today at Carrow Road that mark the end of Community Week 2016, during which the Norwich City Community Sports Foundation (CSF) has been raising awareness of the thousands of individuals and groups who bene� t from its work.

I am looking forward to my small role immensely, because I know from my last encounter with the Norwich DS team just how enthusiastic they are — and so does Sebastien Bassong.

A couple of months ago, the CSF arranged for the DS squad to train with City’s � rst team on the Carrow Road pitch.

I was standing talking to CSF director Ian Thornton on the stairs when Club captain Russ Martin arrived. He asked Ian for details of what was going to happen, smiled, and then said: “As well as doing a bit of training with them, why don’t we play a little game against them?”

A little later the DS group jogged out from the main stand and were really buzzing

when they saw the � rst team players training. They were even more excited when they joined the � rst teamers in a series of special coaching drills.

Then goals were set up in front of the Jarrold so that Russ’ “little game” could be implemented.

The City DS team give everything 100 per cent — and players from both squads roared with laughter when one DS lad clattered Seb and le� him in a heap on the � oor. Seb laughed too, a� er picking himself up a little carefully.

In many ways, the DS squad is the visible, easily understood, part of the CSF’s work.

As many of you know, Jamie Abbot, a DS lad who epitomises the squad’s love of football, is the inspiration for the annual “Jamie’s Game”: the celebrity match which attracts huge crowds here to Carrow Road. The three matches staged so far have raised more than £200,000. This year it is on Sunday, May 22.

But there is so much more to the CSF than DS activities.

The CSF is Norwich City’s official charity, with clear rules and careful governance so that you can be sure every penny donated goes towards charitable activities — activities that help more than 20,000 people each year, including some of the most disadvantaged folk in Norfolk.

Every Premier League club has a similar, charitable wing. That’s something to remember when you read about footballers going to prison or behaving appallingly at a race meeting. The truth is that no sector of society takes its social responsibility more seriously than professional football.

And here’s something amazing. If you look at the turnover of all the foundations and similar organisations linked to football clubs in Britain — the amount of money they pull in from grants and donations to spend on helping folk — then Norwich City’s CSF are consistently in the top four.

That’s right. “Little old Naaridge” are Champions League when it comes to helping people.

But there is no resting on laurels. Quite the opposite, in fact. The CSF has extremely ambitious plans to build a new “hub” for its activities. It’s a truly challenging plan. But the CSF wants to reach out to more and more people with far more daunting challenges.

So if you are early enough, come over and heckle the little old fat bloke in the black re� ng the DS game if you like. If you see a CSF tin being rattled today, please put some change in it.

And be proud that the Fine City has such a strong Foundation.

Writer and broadcaster Mick Dennis provides OTBC readers with his views on things football.

Mick's Zone