On Sunday 28 October a celebration of the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush is taking place at the City Ground. Nottingham Forest Ladies FC are taking on the Jamaican national team, the Senior ‘Reggae Girlz’ with a 3.00pm kick off, but the day will be a festival of much more than just football.
In a celebration of Caribbean family culture, fans will be treated to traditional Jamaican food made by local companies and performances from local reggae artists, plus a national anthem performance from the legendary Freddie McGregor.
McGregor broke into the reggae scene in the 1980s with his hit ‘Bobby Bobylon’. A contemporary of Bob Marley, he is a pioneer of reggae and ska and one the icons of the genres. With 3 UK top ten hits and 2 Grammy nominations, McGregor received a lifetime achievement award in Washington in 2013.
The match will celebrate the arrival of several hundred Jamaican and Caribbean immigrants to Great Britain 70 years ago and is an event that the Forest board are delighted to host, recognising that they are ‘part of a vibrant, dynamic and diverse community’ with thousands of Jamaican and Caribbean families living in Nottingham and the East Midlands.
This will be the first chance for the Jamaican ladies’ team to play on European soil and an opportunity for Forest’s female talent (the team are currently 8th in the FA WPL Premier Division North) to play to a stadium crowd.
Tickets are priced at just £5 with further discounts for Forest season ticket holders and Under 16s. It’s a wonderful opportunity for us all to enjoy music, food and to reflect on our sense of belonging to a diverse community enriched by Caribbean culture.
In one of many recent signs of Nottingham Forest getting its act together in terms of community engagement and diversity, the club initiated this event, finding support from Nottingham City Council, the Bob Marley Foundation and the Jamaican Government.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
