Football Stars and Legends Show Support for Adolescent Health at 2025 Grassroot Soccer Annual Gala

Leah Williamson highlights evening celebrating Grassroot Soccer’s impact on adolescent health and honoring Arsenal Women

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, December 4, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On December 3, celebrities and luminaries from the worlds of football, entertainment, and global health joined together at Lindley Hall in London to support the 2025 Grassroot Soccer Annual Gala. The event raised more than £1 million for the renowned global adolescent health organisation, which leverages the power of football to equip young people with the life-saving information, services, and mentorship they need to live healthier lives.

Grassroot Soccer honoured Arsenal Women with its Game Changer Award during the evening, in recognition of the Club’s advocacy in driving gender inclusion and well-being. Accepting the Award on stage on behalf of the Club was Captain Leah Williamson. Tobin Heath – former Arsenal player, 2x World Cup Winner with the U.S. Women’s National Football Team, and Global Ambassador for Grassroot Soccer – presented the award.

“It’s an honour to represent Arsenal and accept this award on behalf of everyone connected with our club,” said Williamson. “Grassroot Soccer uses football to provide safer, healthier environments for young people, and we’re proud to align our efforts to drive generational change for young women and girls with such an inspiring organisation.”

Grassroot Soccer Global Ambassador Rachel Riley MBE, of Channel 4’s Countdown and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, steered the evening's proceedings as gala host. The programme featured performances by Innocent Masuku, member of the English National Opera and fourth-place finisher on the 2024 season of Britain’s Got Talent.

The evening also celebrated the public launch of the Bobby Clark Coach Development Fund, which supports the training and development of Grassroot Soccer’s “SKILLZ Coaches”: young community leaders who run Grassroot Soccer’s football-based adolescent health programmes and serve as valuable mentors to programme participants. To commemorate the launch of the Fund, legendary Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson shared a celebratory video message for Bobby Clark – former Scotland goalkeeper and celebrated American collegiate football coach – for whom the Fund is named.

“I’ve been proud to support Grassroot Soccer for the last decade, and I’m especially proud to support this important initiative,” Ferguson said. “Bobby and I go way back to our Aberdeen days. As football coaches, we're firm believers in recognizing potential and investing in young people, and Grassroot Soccer’s Coaches are doing this around the world.”

The program also featured a video message of support from David Beckham, and concluded with a live auction featuring a Manchester United matchday experience with Ferguson along with an experience provided by The Football Association (The FA). The evening also included a silent auction featuring experiences and prizes with Christian Pulisic, Fulham FC, The Wimbledon Championships, McLaren, and more celebrities and brands. Following the auction, guests celebrated the evening’s success with a DJ set by HALE ZERO.

Other notable figures in attendance included Grassroot Soccer Global Ambassadors Christen Press (2x World Cup Winner with the U.S. Women’s National Team) and Quinton Fortune (former Manchester United player); Alex McLeish OBE (former Scotland footballer and manager); Roberta Moore (daughter of Bobby Moore and Founder and Patron of The Moore Family Foundation); Kola Bokinni (actor from the Emmy and SAG Award-winning Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso); and Ethan Zohn (winner of CBS’s Survivor: Africa and Grassroot Soccer Co-Founder).

Dr. Tommy Clark and three fellow footballers founded Grassroot Soccer in 2002 after witnessing the devastating effects of HIV while playing professional football in Zimbabwe. After watching friends die of AIDS, the four teammates recognized that football — a positive force in the community — could be used to engage adolescents to stop the spread of HIV. Over its nearly 25-year history, Grassroot Soccer has evolved from a disease focus to an adolescent health focus, empowering more than 25 million young people to make educated choices about their most pressing and interconnected health challenges, including HIV/AIDS, mental health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and gender-based violence.

Sponsors on the evening included Getty Images, Gusbourne, Sake ONO, Casa Dragones, and Riverwood Whisky.

Ethan McCoy
Grassroot Soccer
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Grassroot Soccer 2025 Annual Gala

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