Making the welcome wider.

I’m a co-owner of Sutton United. To me, a football club is more than what happens on the pitch: it can be a place for joy, connection and belonging.

Amber Rising is a community initiative designed to widen the welcome around the club. We used culture, storytelling and a clear invitation to reach people who had not experienced a Sutton United matchday before.

The aim was simple: help first-time fans come through the gates and feel part of something.

Hundreds of first-time fans were welcomed in the initiative’s first season. That is a meaningful beginning—not a claim that one matchday can solve the wider challenge of belonging.

The result matters because it shows what can happen when a club makes the invitation visible and brings community into the story.

Football can create a shared place to gather, connect and belong.

Read Sutton United’s first-season update →

Relational health includes how we connect in communities as well as in love, family, friendship and work. Amber Rising is one practical expression of that idea: make the invitation clearer, reduce the distance and create a reason to share space.

I’ll share future participation or partnership details when they are ready. Until then, this page records the first-season result and the thinking behind it.