Manager of multi-nationality football team in Wrexham wins equality and diversity award

The player-manager of a multi-nationality football team in Wrexham is backing a season-long anti-discrimination campaign in the North East Wales Premier Division.

Delwyn Derrick, of Bellevue FC, says the campaign will launch at the start of the 2018-19 season and will involve several workshops for club managers and players.

He was one of the founders of a football team at Bellevue Park – a 30-strong squad made up of players aged from 14 to 40 from Poland, Romania, Albania, Portugal, Syria, Eritrea, Sudan, Libya, Iraq, Germany, Angola, England and, of course, Wales.

And for his efforts over the last 18 months he picked up the Equality and Diversity Award at a ceremony hosted by North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones at the Celtic Royal Hotel in Caernarfon.

“Everyone involved with the Bellevue team is very proud to receive this award,” said Delwyn. “For me personally it is a massive achievement.”

The award citation said it was being made to someone who has embraced community engagement to reduce tensions and fear of crime.

Arfon Jones said: “Delwyn has given an opportunity to people of many nationalities to come together and play football.

“Their recent award ceremony at the Saith Seren in Wrexham showed the rapport and camaraderie they have built up as a team and Delwyn has done so much to break down barriers between nationalities in Wrexham.

“It’s an excellent example of a bottom up approach to an issue and not the usual top down.”

The multi-nationality Bellevue team was formed in 2017 when Delwyn, along with fellow Sunday league players James Wright, Jon Davies and Damian Walker, spotted French and German students living in the area while they were at university or college coming down for a kick-about with their mates.

“We thought to ourselves that it would be a good idea to start a team that would be for people of all nationalities,” said Delwyn. “We knew there was a Portuguese-only team and a Kurdish team as well, but there was nothing for mixed nationalities.

“So we set about forming one and the reaction from players was very positive. I find it difficult to believe no-one had done it before.”

With help from Sport Cymru, the team played in the North East Wales league last season and in 26 matches there was only one incident of racism against the squad. However this was quickly dealt with by league itself and opposing club, who took swift action against the offending player.

Bellevue will once again be joining forces with North Wales PCC Arfon Jones to highlight National Hate Crime Awareness Week in October, but this year several other teams in the North East Wales league want to get involved.

“Cooperative North Wales are again backing us and putting in a team, but we’ll have to change the format because of the increased interest,” said Delwyn.

He admits he is so keen to learn how his Muslim players are affected by the Ramadan 30-day fast that he and a couple of colleagues have volunteered to follow the religious festival.

“I just want to know how my players are affected by a long fast, what impact it has on their bodies,” said Delwyn.

“I and two or three other members of the Bellevue squad have volunteered to join the Ramadan fast next year so we can learn what its impact is on our fellow players. It’s sure to be an interesting exercise.”