Football Innovators Forum 2026

Now that the dust has settled, we wanted to share some of the photos from such a great day at the Riverside on Friday 5 June. Football Innovators Forum 2026 brought together brilliant people from across football, education, business, and community work, and the support for the event was incredible from start to finish.

We also want to thank everyone who came to support the event, everyone who spoke, the Boro Shirt Museum for helping with the stage set-up, our wonderful host Gary Philipson for giving his time to run the event from the stage, Middlesbrough FC for their help and hospitality, our event sponsors, and of course everyone at the charity itself, the MFC Foundation.

What the Day Achieved

We set out to raise £500 for charity and create an event that could help people gain access to key figures in football to support and develop their careers, whether through education, business, or a simple connection. Today, we are proud to say the event raised £2,045, with more than 140 people supporting the event in total.

The feedback has been sensational, and it was brilliant to see so many people connecting, sharing ideas, and doing business together. We hope everyone had a great day. A lot of hard work went into making the event happen, and the outcome has been hugely rewarding.

Thank you to everyone who spoke, attended, helped, donated, contributed, and interacted with the event. It means a lot to us.