THE BLOG

14
Jul

Resurgence, Interview with Street Soccer Scotland Founder & CEO David Duke MBE


In the latest of our ‘Resurgence’ series, we are delighted to have a chat with Street Soccer Scotland Founder & CEO – David Duke MBE. In our short 25-minute interview – we get a great insight into how David has used his past challenges to better lead himself and his team throughout the crisis, the importance of resilience, how Street Soccer raised over £70,000 with their very first custom digital event, how there can be no more excuses by society for failing those in need after Covid-19 and why he’s optimistic about the future.

The series is brought to you by Glasgow-based design and branding agency – the loft.

Interview tic-toc

0 Mins | Introduction of Resurgence Interviewee David Duke MBE, Founder of StreetSoccer Scotland.

1 Mins | David speaks about importance of having something to do and keeping busy. Street Soccer was set up to bring people together – people that are experiencing various challenges – homelessness, mental health, recovery, addiction, etc..

2 Mins | Street Soccer delivers a range of programmes using football as a tool to get people involved then create positive opportunities and communities.

3 Mins | Helping People that are cut off – thinking and acting fast in terms of Covid restrictions. Worked with team to create a menu of support options about how they could help people dealing with the crisis.

4 Mins | Getting back to values and main purpose of Street Soccer – letting the team and people know that they are there. Making sure practical elements were in place.

5 Mins | Trying to keep people engaged, focussed and motivated – a wee bit of hope. Helping people with emergency transport, food or housing supplies, setting up a hardship fund. ‘Do as much as we can and be there for them.’

6 Mins | Socially distanced Sports Session. How has the people Street Soccer supported – reacted with everything that has happened?

7 Mins | Players are missing regular access to football and support programmes.

9 Mins | The key thing for everything – we need to come back together. We need human connection. We all need a hug. We all need to see people. Online is great. Digital is a help. But it’s not the same. And that’s the challenge.

10 Mins | Resilience is a key part of the make-up of the people they help. And in a lot of cases, resilience gained through hard times can be a benefit for dealing with experiences such as this. Coping mechanisms. Hoping to get back to normal as quickly as possible.

13 Mins | Coping Mechanisms – importance of a clear mind, control, a plan and being on your game.

14 Mins | Focus on the here and now, don’t look too far ahead, ‘things I can physically impact on, because in a lot of instances right now – we’re powerless. Don’t worry about the things you can’t control. Worry about the things you can control. Do what you can do to your best. Keep Focussed.’

15 Mins | Best way to deal with anxiety is to talk to a friend. We’re all experiencing stuff we’ve never experienced before. Most important to look after yourselves – if you can’t look after yourselves, you can’t look after anybody else. Switch off now and then. Clear the head.

16 Mins | Look after yourself so you can help look after others.

17 Mins | Big lessons for society. Key message is it’s great to look after each other in a crisis but let’s do that in normal times too.

18 Mins | Digital has really taken of with Street Soccer – raising over £70,000 with a digital event. There are new opportunities to create stuff – new offerings, etc..

19 Mins | Charities have pretty much ended rough sleeping due to Covid which shows how quickly we can react. Charity leaders can now flag up what we did during Covid – as a means to say we can impact change much quicker.

20 Mins | 1 in 4 children live in poverty before Covid. Scotland has a lot of work to do to ensure that everybody has a better quality of life. Best ideas come when you’re backed against the wall.

21 Mins | When back’s against the wall he performs his best.

22 Mins | David had to solve problems from a very young age and his plans for the next couple of months – get programmes running again, re-think the financial strategy, while letting the team do what they do best.

24 Mins | Need to have some kind of optimism about the future. There’s a greater cause here. If we all work together – businesses, government, charities, etc then we can realise a much better vision for the country.