Families living on the same street celebrated their cultural differences thanks to a helping hand from their local football club.

A total of 12 families, who live on Perry Street in Darwen, experienced a day in the life of their Muslim neighbours, as they took part in a one-day fast to mark the end of Ramadhan.

Rovers, in partnership with Blackburn Rovers Community Trust and Sodexo, were the driving force behind the Iftaar initiative, as they prepared and delivered over 400 meals and 90 food hampers to local mosques, refugee asylum seekers and the families on Perry Street, who all broke their fast together at around 9pm.

Gary Robinson, CEO of Blackburn Rovers Community Trust, said: “We’re a socially-conscious football club and we have a Community Trust which operates 365 days a year in all communities across Blackburn with Darwen, which is such a multi-cultural area, and we wanted to celebrate diversity by bringing people and communities together and by using the power of football and the love of Blackburn Rovers for good in order to do that.

“We wanted to show the world that Blackburn with Darwen is a tight-knit community and we all live in harmony together and we should appreciate, value and celebrate different cultures and religions.

“The football club and the Community Trust have a joint strategy which strives to make Blackburn Rovers the most inclusive place within the town. We welcomed a lot of Asian families to Ewood Park pre-Covid, especially through our Next Generation initiative, where we opened up an entire stand to families from all different communities, and a big part of our strategy is to ensure that the next generation of fans, no matter what background or religion, all have the same opportunity to support their local football club and to feel safe and welcome whilst attending matches.”

Yasir Sufi, Integration Manager at Blackburn Rovers, added: “Blackburn Rovers is the heartbeat of the community and the football club has played a massive role in supporting the local community over the past year and in bringing everyone together.

“We delivered over 600 food hampers to families in need at Christmas and with the holy month of Ramadhan now upon us, we were eager to provide meals for impoverished Muslim and refugee families throughout the Borough, as well as to the residents on Perry Street, who have been fasting together for the day.

“OneRovers is part of our DNA and our philosophy at Blackburn Rovers, which is all about celebrating diversity. Everyone is different in their own way, so it is important for us to recognise that, celebrate it together and bring people closer by understanding each other better.”

Rovers would like to say a big thank you to all the local partner organisations who assisted with the successful street fast initiative, including Blackburn Rovers Community Trust, Sodexo, Morrisons, Masjid E Saliheen, The Cardboard Box Company, Karen Flooring, KQF Foods and DARE.