A Story of Redemption

Leicester Nirvana Football Club is thrilled to announce its forthcoming exhibition, 'Leicester Nirvana: The Pioneers', set to grace the walls of the New Walk Museum from the 9 March – 13 June 2024. This exhibition showcases the history of Leicester Nirvana, and its evolution from inception to its ambitious aspirations for the future.

The exhibition takes pride in spotlighting Leicester Nirvana's myriad of achievements over the years. From impactful community initiatives to the nurturing of young talents who later made their mark as professional footballers, Leicester Nirvana has left an indelible imprint on the football landscape. The stories of these aspiring individuals will be prominently featured, serving as a source of inspiration for visitors, showcasing the transformative power of humble beginnings.

Zak Hajat, Chair of Leicester Nirvana, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, "As we celebrate the rich history at Leicester Nirvana, we not only reflect on our humble beginnings but also honour the extraordinary journey that has led us to where we stand today. 'Leicester Nirvana: The Pioneers' is more than just an exhibition; it's a testament to the unwavering spirit and commitment of our club. We extend a warm invitation to all to visit the exhibition at the Leicester Museum and Gallery, where we will share our story, celebrate our legacy, spotlight the young talents we've nurtured, and our dedication to fostering equality in football. This exhibition is a celebration of our past, a testament to our present, and a glimpse into the vibrant future we envision for Leicester Nirvana."

Leicester Nirvana has long been at the forefront of advocating for equity and inclusivity within football. The club's relentless endeavours to champion diversity within the sport have garnered national acclaim.

Leicester Nirvana eagerly anticipates welcoming visitors to this exceptional exhibition, encapsulating the ethos and values that define the club.

Details of the Exhibition at the Leicester Museum and Gallery:

Exhibition Title: 'Leicester Nirvana: The Pioneers'

Dates: March 9th – June 13th, 2024

Location: Leicester Museum and Gallery, 53 New Walk, Leicester, LE1 7EA

For further information about Leicester Nirvana and the exhibition, please contact the club at leicesternirvana@hotmail.com.

Leicester Nirvana Football Club

As the world looks to the professional football game to step up their net zero ambitions, one amateur football club in Leicester is flying under the radar.

Leicester Nirvana FC (Nirvana) are the first club in the UK to form a partnership with the United Nations and their local university, with an aim to become net zero. The partnership between De Montfort University, Leicester Nirvana and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Academic Impact Hub, is the first of its kind and has developed partner interest from Germany, Spain and countries across Africa.

In a recent statement by the Premier League, clubs agreed to a Premier League Environmental Sustainability Commitment, which introduces a minimum standard of action on environmental issues across the clubs and the League.

The Commitment outlines four operational measures, which will build on existing action made by clubs to reduce their environmental impact and provide a foundation to underpin long-term environmental ambitions and see each club:

1. Develop a robust environmental sustainability policy, by the end of the 2024/25 season

2. Designate a senior employee to lead the club’s environmental sustainability activities

3. Develop a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions dataset (scope 1, 2 and 3) by the end of the 2025/26 season and work towards a standardised football-wide approach to measuring emissions

4. Support the development of a common framework for action via the Premier League Sustainability Working Group (PLSWG)

At a grassroots level Nirvana are already working towards the standards set by the Premier League and have developed a new club Net Zero Policy, followed by a Club Strategy to support the cultural shift in sustainability that Nirvana plans to make. Club Trustee and senior volunteer, Ivan Liburd was appointed the role of SDG Champion and has said,

“Football has the potential to do so much to support the agenda of sustainability, not only at a professional level, but also at a community level. We just need more resources to do it. We have adopted the model of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as an overarching framework. As a club, we are committed on our journey to net zero and have had many discussions around how governing bodies and brands can support grassroots clubs to become more sustainable, and we will continue to look at news ways bridge the gap of sustainability and inner city community football.”

Nirvana were recently supported by Dr. Leticia Ozawa-Meida, a senior research fellow at De Montfort University to assess emissions across all facets of the club's operations, ranging from the energy usage in their clubhouse to the transportation habits of players and their families. This rigorous study is a vital component of the clubs Net Zero Football Project, and has generated findings that can serve as a model for similar assessments in other amateur sports clubs across the country and the world.

Dr Ozawa-Meida, a Senior Research Fellow at De Montfort University, said:

“The results of the carbon footprint show that the largest sources of emissions of Leicester Nirvana relate to energy use, gas and electricity (70%), followed by the emissions related to travel of players and families to the matches (27%), and in less extent to emissions due to water use, waste generated and procurement of players uniforms (3%).”

Representatives from nirvana also had the opportunity to visit to Germany and connect with FC Internationale Berlin 1980 e. v. and SG.Eintracht.Peitz, to discuss collaboratively working on a framework for grassroots football clubs across the continent and indeed the world to benefit from.

Nirvana were also early adopters of the Football for the Goals initiative, that provides a platform for the global football community to engage with and advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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Leicester Nirvana were one of the first clubs to become an official member of the United Nations Football for the Goals, and remain a committed member in support of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Football for the Goals is a United Nations initiative that engages with football stakeholders and major actors to leverage the outreach power of football and the sport’s global footprint in advancing sustainability, equality, human rights and climate action by promoting actions and practices that support achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Football for the Goals invites stakeholders in the global football community, including confederations, federations, member associations, leagues, clubs, players, players’ associations, sports media and organized fan groups to become agents of change by committing to the principles of sustainable development, developing sustainable practices and acting as champions of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Leicester Nirvana embarked on a fantastic visit to Germany to connect and meet with FC Internationale Berlin 1980 e. V. and #SG.Eintracht.Peitz to discuss all things #netzero. The visit was organised by DMU so that clubs from Germany, would have the opportunity to meet with us, to network and share best practice on sustainability.

Many great discussions took place, revealing just how much we all have in common as grassroots football clubs including Net Zero, Racism, infrastructure and social responsibility.

We were able to gain some very good learning and will hopefully be able to bring this back to Nirvana.

Exciting times ahead.
#berlin #germany #netzero

The third Football for the Goals members’ meeting convened on the 23rd January 2024 and was a chance to hear from the United Nation's FFTG leadership as they updated on the initiative’s progress and strategy for 2024. The Football For the Goals membership now spans across more than 265 organisations from 86 countries around the world.

The work that Leicester Nirvana has been doing was able to form part of an update that Dr Mark Charlton from De Montfort University (DMU) delivered to United Nations Regional Directors from across the world, including from Delhi, Buenos Aires, Western Europe, Geneva, Mexico City, Nairobi, Rabat and Pretoria.

Among many things, Dr Charlton explained how Leicester Nirvana were the integral instigator of a partnership between DMU, Leicester Nirvana and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Hub, which very soon grew to include SG.Eintracht.Peitz, from Cottbus, Berlin in Germany.

The update continued to mention an exchange networking visit to Germany to connect and meet with FC Internationale Berlin 1980 e. v. and SG.Eintracht.Peitz to discuss the development of an SDG framework for football, particularly those at a grassroots level..

Ivan Liburd, Leicester Nirvana’s SDG Champion said, “The work we are doing around net zero is so important and the support we have had from DMU has been amazing. Football in general must catch up in their practices and move into a space where they can really support grassroots communities to achieve capital interventions for a more sustainable future.

“Nirvana are excited to work with work with partner clubs in Germany to build and develop projects that many others will benefit from.”