Leicester Nirvana worked with England Football and Goal Click who teamed up to create a powerful storytelling series spotlighting how grassroots clubs across England bring The FA’s five pillars of Respect the Standard to life. Nine clubs throughout the country have shared the behaviour-focused initiatives they take to promote positive change.

Ivan Liburd’s multifaceted role at Leicester Nirvana across coaching, communications and mentorship gives him the unique opportunity to reinforce positive messaging throughout every area of the club.

Read the full article here https://www.goal-click.com/football-photography-stories/ivan-leicester-nirvana

BASIS NATIONAL AWARD WINNERS

Leicester Nirvana Football Club has been named the winner of the Partnership of the Year award at the prestigious BASIS (British Association for Sustainable Sport) Sustainability Awards 2024, recognising their outstanding collaboration with De Montfort University (DMU) and the United Nations to become a net zero football club.

This award celebrates Leicester Nirvana’s ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability through its innovative partnership with DMU and the United Nations. Together, they are working to make the club carbon neutral, while also addressing wider global challenges through the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Through this collaboration, Leicester Nirvana is not only finding ways to reduce its carbon footprint but also creating a positive impact on the local community, encouraging youth engagement and awareness around climate action, renewable energy, and sustainable development.

Mark Charlton, Associate Professor of Sustainable Development & Associate Director of DMU United Nations Academic Impact SDG Hub of De Montfort University, commented: “We are incredibly proud of this partnership with Leicester Nirvana FC. Together, we are demonstrating the power of combining sport, research, and international frameworks like the SDGs to create meaningful change. This award is a testament to the innovation and shared vision of our collaboration.”

The BASIS Sustainability Awards highlight organisations in the sports industry making significant contributions to sustainability. Leicester Nirvana FC’s innovative partnership exemplifies how clubs can drive positive environmental and social outcomes, serving as a blueprint for other grassroots sports organisations.

Ivan Liburd SDG Champion for Leicester Nirvana said;

“WE ARE THRILLED TO RECEIVE THE PARTNERSHIP OF THE YEAR AWARD FROM BASIS. IT’S AN INCREDIBLE HONOUR AND A REFLECTION OF OUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY IN FOOTBALL. OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY AND THE UNITED NATIONS HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN OUR JOURNEY TO BECOME NET ZERO. THIS AWARD SHOWS HOW SPORT CAN BE A FORCE FOR GOOD, DRIVING BOTH ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL CHANGE.”

Ivan Liburd was also shortlisted for Rising Star of the Year at the BASIS Awards and finished as one of two runner ups to Chris Goodwin from Chelsea Football Club.

Leicester Nirvana's progression towards aligning with the world's Sustainable Development Goals has been truly remarkable. Starting from humble beginnings, the club has now emerged as a trailblazer in grassroots football, asserting its leadership not only locally and nationally but also on the international stage.

For more information on our SDG work, visit our dedicated net zero page.

PROUD SUPPORTER OF PLAY SAFE

Play Safe is a year-round campaign that champions the importance of safeguarding in football. It encourages leagues and clubs at every level of the game to play their part in making the game safe, fun, and enjoyable for everyone, everywhere, every time.

The FA is asking everyone to know their role in safeguarding. This means no matter what role you have in football, you know your role and responsibility in making it a safe space for all.

To find out your role, click here

Together, we can make the game safer, fun and enjoyable for everyone, everywhere, every time.

For further details or inquiries about how you can support Leicester Nirvana, please contact: Leicesternirvana@hotmail.com

Leicester Nirvana FC and SG Eintracht Peitz e.V. Peitz have been keeping a Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) diary which captures experiences of sustainability challenges and successes. The journal also reports impacts of the weather on football operations over time, alongside other issues that affect community clubs including players’ health, financial welfare, partnerships, education and future ambitions. This data is then analyzed to identify patterns in challenges and ways to overcome them to develop policies and toolkits, enabling more clubs to become sustainable. 

After completing successful pilot, which has identified and improved problems highlighted during the journaling process, the project is now open to participation for more United Nations Football For The Goals members worldwide.

Dr. Mark Charlton of De Montfort University, who has co-developed the research project with myself (Ivan Liburd) of Leicester Nirvana FC and Sebastian Bubner of SG Eintracht Peitz, said:

“Piloting the research over the past three months has already produced impactful results and informed how the project moves forward. For example, analysis of the data shows both clubs have made progress across environmental, social, educational, and community-focused aspects of the SDGs, despite facing financial and resource-related challenges. Without their efforts, the findings show their communities in the UK and Germany would face environmental degradation, reduced access to sports, weakened social cohesion, and missed development opportunities. The evidence so far indicates their work goes far beyond football - it strengthens resilience, fosters equality, and builds a more sustainable future for everyone.”

Leicester Nirvana Football Club has been a heritage panel by Leicester City Council to mark our rich history in the city. It is located at our home ground at Hamilton Park.

Leicester’s heritage information panels are part of the city council’s Story of Leicester project, that brings to life the city’s colourful 2,000-year history by remembering the people, places and events of Leicester’s recent and distant past. The colourful information panels give residents and visitors to the city the chance to find out more about Leicester’s extensive history from Roman times, through the Middle Ages, the city’s manufacturing, engineering and transport history, the Victorian era and beyond.