A Brief History of the Toxteth Tigers Basketball Programme


Created in 1968 by Jimmy Rogers to provide opportunities for young Black people to play basketball. The club grew out of Stanley House Youth Club in the Granby area of Toxteth Tigers. Originally called ATAC, the team played at Liverpool YMCA and later at Riversdale College. The team played in the local Merseyside leagues and later in the regional and national competitions

It was decided in the early eighties after the civil disturbances in the community that there was a need to expand the programme into more than just a sports programme. The programme originated from a small room in the L8 Law centre and moved to its present premises in Myrtle Parade in 1995. In 1991 the club was reconstituted to incorporate its wider aims in its constitution, and also changed its name to Toxteth Tigers Basketball Programme in order to portray positive images of the area and of Liverpool

Over the years the programme has been funded by the National Lotteries Charities Board, The European Social Fund. The Home Office, The National Health Service, Sport England and the Drugs Action Team, plus Heinz and Barclays Bank from the private sector. The basketball programme widened its aims to focus on reducing anti-social behaviour, focusing on, health promotion etc enabling young people to develop skills in relation to education and future employment. The programme has become a model of good practice throughout the country in relation to successfully working with young people who have been socially disadvantaged using the sport of basketball as the driver to develop their social and life skills.

The club achieved National recognition when it became National Champions in 2000 and out of a squad of fifteen, eight of them were accepted academically in various universities around the country, two of these boys were the first in there families ever to attend university.

Toxteth Tigers Basketball Programme now has young people participating from all over the world. We have a number of refugees and asylum seekers from Africa, eastern Europe and the middle east as basketball is a truly worldwide sport some of these young people have found the programme there first port of call after arriving in Liverpool

The programme has been able to successfully help these young people to integrate into the local community making them feel safe and secure. The current membership is over two hundred boys and girls that come from all the different groups and cultures in the community a number of our young people are currently in the United States studying on Basketball scholarships

Over the thirty seven years the programme has produced some outstanding positive role models who have gone on to achieve success in both Sport and Industry. Given its longevity as a community organisation, the Programme now acts as the accountable body for other newer community organisations. Two of the original members of the club are now Trustees of the Programme. Currently there are four organisations in the ‘family', namely Tigers Basketball Programme, Kingsley United FC, L8 Sports Forum and Positive Futures. Princes Park Community Tennis Club is about to come on stream.

In 2005 the Programme successfully applied to the Charity Commission to become a registered charity, number 1110234