It's football but not as we know it: twenty-five years of connection and competence

This is a personal, reflective account of my long-term participation in a football group involving people living in or working in residential child care and invited guests. It explores the benefits of being part of this group, and the rich potential of such groups and activities for the development of connection and competence. It also discusses the process of developing and nurturing a caring culture within the group, and the caring capacities of its members. It explores what is needed to maintain a group of this kind over a period of decades, concluding with a personal account of my own richly rewarding experience of belonging to this group.