London Sport Awards 2021 Winner: Inspirational Young Person of the Year - Charlie Hyman

FOOTBALL trailblazer Charlie Hyman has been recognised for his incredible work throughout the capital by winning the prestigious Inspirational Young Person of the Year at the London Sport Awards.

Bloomsbury Football, founded by Hyman, aims to provide the optimum experience to children of all abilities and backgrounds and has three sites across north London.

And after serving areas such as Camden, Westminster and Islington, Hyman has now been named the winner of the Inspirational Young Person of the Year at the Guildhall, in association with BBC Radio London.

Only three years after its founding, Bloomsbury Football became one of the leading football providers in central London and provides free-of-charge drop-in sessions in the community as well as disability classes and school provision.

In total, 871 children benefitted from Bloomsbury Football's services in 2020, and Hyman created bursary schemes to allow those from low-income families to participate.

Hyman had to beat the odds against other incredible nominations, including Capital Titans’ basketball coach Kieran Matthews and Konverse Dance Crew’s founder Elvire Mavusi Matu.

And delighted Hyman, speaking from the grand London venue, said: “It’s amazing. I didn’t think I was going to win and I was delighted when my name was read out.

“It’s great for all our hard work to be recognised, and the award helps to elevate the work we do.

“More importantly, I hope it inspires others to also take up running organisations that make society better, and particularly using sport as the intervention to do so.

“The award just shows how big of a demand there is for good quality, affordable, accessible sport for children in London.

“Working with a few thousand children a week is just scratching the surface - I can’t wait to help more in the future.

“Having London Sport support us has been incredibly helpful and we wouldn’t be where we are today without them.”

Over the last five years, the annual London Sport Awards, in association with the City of London Corporation, has grown to become the biggest celebration of grassroots and community physical activity and sport in the city.

And this year’s showpiece event once again recognised, celebrated, and shone a light on the stories of the incredible individuals, groups, and organisations for their outstanding work across the capital, helping Londoners of all ages and backgrounds to be physically active.

Emma Jones, Sports Broadcast Journalist of BBC Radio London, who sponsored Inspirational Young Person of the Year, added: “I’ve read through all the information about all the nominees and I think every single one of them probably deserves an award.

“I’m sure it’s been incredibly difficult to narrow it down to the finalists and the people who have eventually collected the awards.

“Every time I speak to one of the nominees, I’m just so pleased to talk to them about what they do and what they’re still doing in London and the differences that they’re making.

“It’s a real privilege and hopefully we’re also sharing that with our listeners so all of our listeners are able to find out about some of these clubs and schemes that are happening here in London and if they’re not involved in sport yet, then they’ll get involved.”

See the full list of London Sport Awards 2021 winners here.