As a child, Kadeem Jordan used to gaze from his bedroom window and be greeted by the glistening floodlights of The Hawthorns.
Hearing the echoing cheers and hubbub of a matchday in B71 from a distance always intrigued him, but little did young Kadeem know the long-standing association he’d go on to forge with the club’s charity partner, The Albion Foundation.
“Growing up in Handsworth has its challenges,” Jordan admits now, in the position of Senior Youth Engagement Coach and reflecting on his incredible journey this Black History Month - the theme of which is "honouring our communities".
“I was actually born in London; it’s a fact that some people don’t know. I moved to Birmingham when I was about four or five years old. I grew up in Handsworth, which isn’t too far from West Bromwich Albion. I’m a Brummie at heart; it doesn’t matter if I was born in London - that’s my childhood. From my bedroom window, you can actually see The Hawthorns. I can see the lights and hear the cheers from the ground, so I always knew when there was a game on.”
According to a study conducted by Birmingham City Council in 2021, those from ethnic minority backgrounds make up 91.3 per cent of Handsworth’s population - Kadeem being a proud part of that figure.
“It was exciting to meet people from different backgrounds and their different cultures,” Jordan beams. “It can be linked to your own, and you find similarities to connect with. You build friendships through the types of things you go through. It’s enjoyable, and you find people who are like you. I’m from the Caribbean, mainly Jamaica. I’m proud to be a black Jamaican man; I’m very proud of where I come from, and I’m sure my family are proud of where they’re from too.”
After first coming into contact with the Foundation through his primary school, Kadeem searched for further opportunities to foster the sense of community he looked for as a child. And from the moment he walked through the door, he felt he had found a home, leading to him also meeting role models from similar backgrounds who would help to shape the rest of his story.
“I joined in with a Premier League Kicks session at the Community Sports Hall,” Kadeem reflects. “That was the first session I really went to. From attending those sessions, I joined the Post-16 programme, where I met Déjon Hylton, who used to work at the Foundation, and he was my first real mentor. I learned a lot through him, and he guided me through my time there. It was nice to have Déjon, who was from a similar background and it was nice to see a positive role model, which I didn’t really have when I was growing up. After going through the Post-16 programme, I went into the University of South Wales programme that we’re still running, but I was part of the first cohort of students to do that. That programme started seven years ago this year, and it’s still going and inspiring new people.”
Through meeting Déjon, Jordan felt he could see a brighter future ahead of him, one which could’ve looked incredibly different had he not crossed paths with his new mentor, or the Foundation as a whole.
“I remember having that desire to replicate the influence Déjon had on me and give back to my community in the same way,” Kadeem ponders. “It stems from me not having that positive role model growing up in my neighbourhood; it’s so easy to get led astray, but I didn’t, and I wanted to be that voice and to be that support system for younger children. I wanted to show them they can do something positive and show them there’s more to life if you just take that step.”
Now the youngster is in a privileged position where he can shape the next generation of ‘Kadeems’ coming through the Foundation’s varied and inclusive pathway by running the charity’s Premier League Kicks sessions - a free-to-attend initiative funded by the Premier League Charitable Fund.
“It’s an honour (to see other children from ethnic minority backgrounds looking up to me),” Jordan gleams, as his mind wanders to the fact he is now the positive role model he wished to become. “It’s a job that I take incredibly seriously to be a role model from a similar background. They’re in a similar position to where I was when I was younger; I’m here to say, ‘I’ve been where you’ve been. I know what it’s like to go through the same thing, and I’ve been in your shoes before’ - with the right guidance and with the right pathway, they can become what I’ve become and even better than that. That’s always my answer to them.
“Our Premier League Kicks sessions are free, and those opportunities weren’t always there when I was growing up, but nowadays the participants get to go to St George’s Park for tournaments. It’s all about belonging and purpose; it’s exactly the one family that the Foundation and the club strive to be.”
And after being lured to The Hawthorns, the very same place he could see from his bedroom window, to be surprised by colleagues and participants with his Premier League Community Champion Award for 2026 - Jordan couldn’t believe his eyes.
“I didn’t know I was getting an award that day,” Kadeem concedes, concealing the slight grin on his face the memory brings with it. “We were told we were having a staff meeting at the stadium about Foundation Day. It took a while to get started, and I was confused. Everyone was waiting, and I was waiting for this to start - I was getting frustrated. I looked up and saw my face on the screen with ‘Premier League Community Champion’ and my face completely lit up; it’s definitely my proudest achievement to date. Seeing what my colleagues and my participants said about me is something I hold dear to me, and it’s my biggest achievement to date.
“It’s everything I’ve ever wanted to do, and I’m so proud of that award.”
