Francis Smith – Speaker at the 20th EFDN Conference

Francis Smith – Speaker at the 20th EFDN Conference

Francis Smith, Chief Executive of The St Johnstone Community Trust, is a confirmed speaker at our 20th EFDN ‘Making Football Matter’ Conference in Athens from the 13th until the 15th of November 2023.

Francis had previously held positions within sport and public sector and is a Changing Lives Leader with Sports Scotland which allows him to drive his ‘why’ of making sport and physical activity available for all. Since taking the job as Chief Executive of The St Johnstone Community Trust 22 months ago, he has seen the extent of how football can specifically help with so many varied social outcomes.

The St Johnstone Community Trust is one of the shortlisted clubs for the More than Football Award 2023 with their project Saints Academy INclusion Through Sport (SAINTS). SAINTS is a project aimed at breaking down barriers to participation for children, young people, and adults who either live with ADHD, Autism, learning disabilities, or those living with mental health struggles, including alcohol or substance misuse. The Trust offer a variety of sporting activities and work with a range of local organisations to create a pathway to participation for the target groups. Find out how they raise awareness or mental health, disabilities and neurodiversity, reduce feelings of social isolation and loneliness for their players and families, and promote inclusion in sport within Perth & Kinross, Scotland. During the conference Francis will give a 15-minute presentation about this project. The winner, to be decided by a voting system, will be announced at the Gala Dinner in the Acropolis Museum at Tuesday 14th of November.

During his presentation he will also share in depth details of the impact the Saints Academy INclusion Through Sport project has for:

• Adults with mental health struggles
• Adults with learning disabilities
• Students with additional support needs
• Children & young people with ADHD
• Children & young people with Autism

”I met a 14 year old boy who has ADHD and autism, and who loved to kick a football from the minute he could walk; it was a great way for him to burn off his extra energy. He had always wanted to be part of a team but his social anxiety and inability to stand still meant coaches were often unwilling to work with him. I found out that on the same day he was spending his saved up pocket money to buy his grassroots team’s training top, he was told by his then coach to “stick to dancing” as he would never be a football player. Devastating. This had a massive impact on his mental health, confidence and self-esteem. However, being able to take part in football with us at the Community Trust and then go on to take part in the ADHD+Sport and Autism FC programmes has helped him regain his love for the game. He has built friendships and social skills, worked on his social anxiety, and now feels included. He told me our coaches have given him the best experiences and opportunities. He is now a volunteer at the Community Trust, helping other children to have the chances and opportunities similar to him. He was one of our 2023 #MoreThanFootball ambassadors, and at the end of the recent Autism League season, he was presented with the Player of the Year award voted for by his peers. Sport is powerful. Football is his release from stress; when he steps onto the pitch, he is a footballer and everything else is left at the pitch side. By upskilling ourselves and improving upon our knowledge of a variety of different needs, we can truly change lives through sport.”

Francis Smith about his best CSR moment in Football