About Us
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We are Match of the Dads, an FA affiliated 5 a side football league for Dads in and around Norwich, playing at the FDC in Bowthorpe in Norwich on Monday evenings between 8pm and 10pm. In partnership with the Norfolk and Waveney Wellbeing Service we also provide help and support for those who need it too! We are also part of Caring United, a partnership with CALM.
From starting out as 12 unhappy, unhealthy, socially frustrated Dads meeting up on a Monday night to have a kick about, we have grown together to a group of over 180 Dads who play football and socialise every week, whilst also raising thousands of pounds for the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) male mental health awareness and suicide prevention charity to help Dads and others in distress get the support they need. Last season alone we raised over £4,000!
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Our partners, the Norfolk and Waveney Wellbeing Service, provide our members with help and support through one-to-one support, self-help advice, socials, webinars and much, much more. We also provide support, help and advice to our members within our closed Facebook and Messenger groups too. This provides a safe space with plenty of like-minded Dads going through the same things as you, there's always help at hand no matter what you need.
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So if you are a reading this and think that you, your loved one, a friend or family member would benefit from what we do, that you'd like to make some new friends and get your social life back in order, or you just want to pull your socks up and get back into football and do some exercise just click the join us button at the top of this page, we'd love to have you on board!
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But hey, don't just take this from us, our work in the local community has has lead us to being award winning, by being crowned the Norfolk FA's Grassroots Project of the Year 2019 and Grassroots Heroes 2022.
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And if that isn't enough, we've even been featured in the Eastern Daily Press, on the BBC (twice!), through the Norfolk FA and on CALM's website.
Match of the Dads was created with the aim of enabling Dads to take a breather from the toils of daily life and recharge their fatherhood batteries, whilst also making new friends and partaking in a physical activity.
It's no secret how much life changes once you become a parent, but we believe it's also important to remember yourself as an individual, particularly in light of the sharp increase in male mental health issues and tragic suicide rates amongst young men.
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If you feel you are in need of support, please contact us to see if we can help, or get in touch with our charity partners CALM via www.thecalmzone.net or our local services available through the
Norfolk and Waveney
Wellbeing Service
www.wellbeingnands.co.uk/norfolk/
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We are delighted that the Norfolk and Waveney Wellbeing Service
have chosen to be our primary shirt sponsor. If you would like to sponsor us, please get in touch. We are always looking for opportunities to build local connections and raise even more money for our charity partner CALM.