2025 has been another exciting year for Wolves Foundation, continuing to grow and extend its influence with a range of projects delivered across the city, in partnership with many different funders and organisations.
There were many highlights, including the launch of the new five-year strategy at a packed event in August, the biggest ever Gala Dinner honouring some inspirational people in front of almost 350 guests in November, and being crowned double winners at the Black Country Chamber of Commerce Awards in the same month.
This was all in addition to over 45 unique projects with Foundation staff operating in the community for 364 days of the year, alongside many popular events such as the Molineux Abseil, Molineux Sleepout, Hiking Heroes and Focus Fixture.
Let’s take a look back at just a snapshot of the Foundation’s last 12 months...
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JANUARY began with news that the Foundation were joining the ‘Clean Air Champions League’, an exciting new project focused on tackling air pollution across the continent. Aiming to engage fans and stakeholders to improve the club’s environmental performance, it forms part of Wolves’ club-wide One Pack One Planet strategy.
Louisa Craig, the principal of Our Lady & St Chad Catholic Academy in Wolverhampton, was surprised by former Wolves’ skipper and now Foundation ambassador Karl Henry with news that she had won the Premier League’s Community Captain award in FEBRUARY. Louisa is a Wolves season ticket holder who has inspired staff and students across the city with her leadership over several decades, as Our Lady & St Chad’s have partnered on several projects with the Foundation. Also in February, and with thanks to funding from the Premier League & PFA, a new ‘Kick Off’ initiative was launched, aimed at increasing access to free recreational football for adults across the city - and supporting grass roots clubs with their off-field operations.
MARCH saw Foundation and club colleagues come together to field a team of runners in the annual Wolverhampton 10k, with Wolves Women manager Dan McNamara and physical performance coach Nathan Maxfield completing the race before the team defeated West Bromwich Albion 5-0 at Molineux in the afternoon! Another highlight of the Foundation year, the Wolves Disability FC half time fixture, took place between two of the squad’s Under-16 teams during the annual Focus Fixture with Everton.
In APRIL, Wolves legends John Richards and Steve Daley joined in a session of Walking Cricket, part of the Building Brighter Futures project of which one strand is encouraging people to become more active. On a similar theme, but different age scale, the Yo! Active programme delivered in partnership with the City of Wolverhampton Council and WV Active put on a bumper programme over Easter.
Another running event in MAY with ‘Team Foundation’ taking part in the Great Birmingham Run, ambassadors Mark Rhodes and Amber Sandhu also drafted in as official starters of the event. Back in Wolverhampton, the Foundation were one of the partners for the first ever ‘Feel the Noise’ music festival, which saw bands performing at several different venues along with an educational workshop/panel for those looking to gain a foothold in the industry. Meanwhile, Richards and Daley were back supporting the Foundation at a fantastic Molineux Memories session to mark VE Day, also featuring vocal trio ‘The Bluebird Belles’ and artefacts from RAF Cosford. There was also a great morning at Molineux as participants from several different Wolves Foundation projects spanning the generations took part in a leisurely walk around the stadium to mark Mental Health Awareness Week.
JUNE is always a very busy month for the Foundation, and 2025 was no exception. As well as hosting two days of a Premier League Primary Stars tournament for young people from across the country, the Foundation delivered several days of ‘Play on the Pitch’ activity offering participants of all ages and abilities the opportunity to grace the hallowed Molineux turf. This also included the annual Football Festival tournaments for grass roots teams and another adults’ competition organised by pack patrons, Hindley Contractors. Slightly further afield, an intrepid team including several Foundation staff completed this year’s Hiking Heroes challenge by traversing the Yorkshire Three Peaks.
JULY saw the announcement of an exciting development for the Foundation’s education team with the launch of a new sports coaching degree in conjunction with the University of Wolverhampton. This came on top of Telford College also restarting their Football & Education College Academy programme in partnership with the Foundation, joining the City of Wolverhampton College and the Football & Education Sixth Form Academy at Our Lady & St Chad’s. Elsewhere, lifelong Wolves fan and junior Wimbledon champion Henry Searle was named as a new ambassador for the Foundation, while the very first ambassador, former promotion-winning captain Karl Henry, was the special guest at the graduation event for the latest Strike A Change cohort of the Cyrille Regis Legacy Trust.
AUGUST was a particularly exciting month as it heralded the major launch of the Foundation’s new five-year strategy, shaping the charity’s aims and objectives to the year 2030. A host of special guests and local dignitaries packed out WV1 to hear from Director of the Foundation Will Clowes and a panel featuring distinguished guests discussing the charity’s role within the city. The event also included the first showing of a special new video as ambassador Mark Rhodes enjoyed a tour of various projects supported by the Foundation, also featuring other ambassadors and cameo roles from the likes of boxer Ben Whittaker.
In SEPTEMBER, another memorable weekend included the return of the Molineux Abseil - albeit weather affected - which saw several participants, including Wolves legend Geoff Palmer, return to complete the descent from the top of the Billy Wright Stand 48 hours later than planned. That same weekend featured the return of the Content Creators Cup, organised by Always Wolves Fan TV, with several content creators taking each other on at seven-a-side at the Compton Park training ground. Meanwhile, the month also brought an end to several weeks of extensive youth engagement work, including the biggest ever Kicks in the Park and the launch of a Friday Youth Hub at Molineux.
Several new partnerships were announced during OCTOBER, including the arrival of Alexion to join Nuffield as partners of Wolves Disability squad, as the Under-16s enjoyed another taste of Molineux by playing at half time of the fixture against Burnley. The Foundation also linked up with Wolves Lottery, with players from the popular weekly game now supporting the charity with every ticket purchased. On the subject of funding, the Healthy Goals project, for pre-school toddlers and their parents/guardians, secured five years’ more investment from the Premier League and PFA, with additional from the City of Wolverhampton Council. Mental Health Awareness Day saw Wolves’ Vice-Presidents Robert Plant, John Richards and Steve Bull visit the allotment project to meet participants on the Head 4 Health programme. Meanwhile, another aspect of the Building Brighter Futures project, helping local residents with financial advice and guidance, raised 33 participants the grand total of £41,492.78 during this month, highlighting the importance of supporting the community through the cost of living crisis.
NOVEMBER always offers an immediate and powerful reminder of the varied nature of the Foundation’s fundraising activities. The annual gala dinner, highlighting the work of the charity and achievement of so many inspirational participants and partners, was followed ten days later by the Molineux Sleepout, with a record number of almost 250 people bedding down on a cold November night in the Stan Cullis Stand. Elsewhere, students from SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary Academy took part in the Bullseye Maths initiative delivered as part of the Grand Slam of Darts at Aldersley, getting to meet tournament quarter finalist Josh Rock in the process. And the Foundation picked up two awards at the Black Country Chamber of Commerce awards, in the categories of Business in the Community and Business in Schools. The charity also ‘hit the wall’ during November, with a fantastic mural featuring several participants emerging opposite Molineux on the side of the Good Shepherd building on Waterloo Road. It proved an excellent backdrop for staff to be snapped alongside new head coach Rob Edwards, who visited the Foundation as part of a couple of days meeting his new colleagues at Molineux and Compton.
A very busy year was rounded off by a very busy DECEMBER. In terms of the festive schedule, including the annual Shoebox Appeal and Santa Dash, the Foundation delivered a total of 65 hours of activities, for 2,082 participants, including the distribution of 1.624 presents. Several members of the men’s, women’s and academy squads supported the Christmas activities, with Ladislav Krejci, Jackson Tchatchoua and Yerson Mosquera visiting the New Cross Care Home in Fallings Park to help put up the festive decorations. A large contingent from men’s and women’s teams took part in a great afternoon of bowling at Hollywood Bowl as part of the Sporting Chances project for young people with SEND, and there were visits from past and present playing personnel to Molineux Memories. A great end to 2025.
Happy New Year, from all at Wolves Foundation!
