FM Conway named headline construction sector sponsor of The Big Goal

UK, October 28th, 2026 – FM Conway has become a headline sector sponsor of The Big Goal, the Street Soccer Foundation's national funding drive helping to transform the lives of homeless and vulnerable young people through football.

The Big Goal brings businesses together to create greater opportunities for young people facing significant disadvantage, helping them build confidence, develop skills and take positive steps towards employment, education and independent living. FM Conway continues its long-standing support of the charity this year, leading the construction industry sector as The Big Goal enters a new, expanded era.

At the heart of the programme are Street Soccer Academies, which use football as a starting point to engage young people and provide the mentoring, education, employability and wellbeing support they need to move forward. For many participants, the impact goes far beyond the football pitch, helping them develop the confidence to believe in themselves, build relationships, learn new skills and see a different future for themselves.

FM Conway has supported the Street Soccer Foundation since 2016, when it became the Foundation's first corporate sponsor and founding commercial partner. Over the past decade, that support has helped the Foundation grow its Academy programme and reach thousands of young people.

The partnership has evolved from supporting individual Academies to creating a wider opportunity to drive change across the construction sector. During the 2025–26 season, FM Conway sponsored 10 Street Soccer Academy groups across London, West London, South East London and Kent. During this period, the partnership supported 82 young people, delivered around 480 hours of education and mentoring for all young people involved, and achieved over 80% progression into employment, education or further training among those completing the programme.[OG1]

Under its latest agreement, FM Conway will sponsor up to 12 Street Soccer Academies for the 2026/27 season, while taking on the newly created headline construction sector sponsorship for The Big Goal.

There is a natural connection between this work and the construction industry, which can provide meaningful routes into employment, skills development and long-term careers. By coming together, businesses across the sector can help create more opportunities for young people and strengthen the pathways between programmes such as the Street Soccer Foundation and the world of work.

The ambition of this new, sector-led approach, is to turn individual business support into collective industry action. The construction industry is continuing to grow, providing opportunities that many young people are unaware of. By bringing together employers, supply chains and industry partners, these new opportunities can not only help young people enter the world of work, but build the confidence, skills and support networks needed to thrive.

Keith Mabbutt, Founder and CEO of the Street Soccer Foundation, said:
"This partnership shows what's possible when a business commits for the long term rather than the short campaign. FM Conway backed us before we had a track record, and that early belief has helped us grow from a Kent pilot into a national programme working with some of the biggest clubs in English football.

"Football gives us a powerful way to engage young people, but the real impact is what happens around it – helping people who may have faced significant barriers to develop confidence, learn new skills and see new possibilities for their future. Having FM Conway now lead our construction sector engagement through The Big Goal gives us the opportunity to take that impact even further."

Matt Smith, Managing Director at FM Conway said:
"We have seen first-hand the difference the Street Soccer Foundation can make in a young person's life. It is about much more than football - it creates an environment where people can build confidence, develop skills and begin to see new possibilities for their future.

"After nearly a decade of working with the Street Soccer Foundation, we know how powerful this work can be. We also recognise the positive impact that could be achieved by bringing more of the construction industry together around this shared ambition.

"Construction has an important role to play in creating opportunities, developing skills and opening up pathways into employment. FM Conway has long promoted that problems impacting us all are best tackled in collaboration, and through The Big Goal, we hope more businesses will come together to help young people build the confidence, skills and opportunities they need to take their next steps."

Companies within and across the sector are encouraged to learn more and to join The Big Goal via its official website: www.TheBigGoal.co.uk.

PICTURE SHOWS: Maria Pratt - Customer Experience Director, FM Conway; Keith Mabbutt - Founder & CEO, Street Soccer Foundation and Matt Smith - Managing Director, FM Conway

About the Street Soccer Foundation: The Street Soccer Foundation is a UK charity that uses the power of football to help young people experiencing homelessness or facing significant disadvantage build brighter futures. Working in partnership with professional football clubs, businesses and community organisations, the Foundation delivers award-winning Street Soccer Academies that combine football with personal development, employability, education and wellbeing support. Since launching in 2015, the charity has helped thousands of young people develop the confidence, skills and opportunities needed to move towards employment, education and independent living. Visit: www.streetsoccerfoundation.org.uk

About The Big Goal: The Big Goal is Britain's fastest-growing business-led movement investing in youth opportunity, powered by the Street Soccer Foundation. It brings together employers from across the United Kingdom to help tackle youth homelessness and create pathways into employment, education and independence. Through annual membership, businesses collectively fund The Big Goal Youth Opportunity Network, supporting nationally recognised Street Soccer Academies, employability programmes and opportunities that help young people experiencing homelessness and disadvantage build brighter futures. The Big Goal transforms business investment into lasting social impact. Visit: www.TheBigGoal.co.uk

About FM Conway: FM Conway is a leading infrastructure services company. Operating in transportation, the built environment, and public realm, we self-deliver all of our services, providing in-house capabilities across the entire lifecycle of a project.

We inspect, design, build, enhance and maintain essential infrastructure services for the community.

With 65 years’ experience, we pride ourselves on being an industry leader and innovator, especially in recycling and reuse. We have a network of asphalt and aggregate recycling manufacturing plants serving London and the wider regions throughout the UK, as well as a Thames-side wharf and our own research and development laboratory.

We recycle 98% of highway arisings, including kerbs, paving and concrete and we have the ability to produce asphalt with a high recycled content and a low carbon footprint.

Visit: www.fmconway.co.uk

Media contact: Nigel Sergent [email protected]

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[OG1]Keith to update numbers