Hi Everyone! Here is a chance for people to win the shirt seen below - Matt Godden's match worn, framed & signed shirt no. 17 from 2012/13 season! Matt Godden started his career as a youth player at Scunthorpe United in 2007, then became a senior player with the Iron between 2009 & 2014. He also went out on loan to a number of clubs during his time at Scunthorpe.

Welcome back to Friends of Pakati! Barra I was recently invited back onto the Iron Hour Podcast, where I was once again interviewed by Barra - Andy Barraclough - one of the team of presenters of the show. Below is the interview in full. If you want to hear the full podcast where they discuss all things Scunthorpe United FC then here is the link…

Hi everyone! On Saturday 24th October, Friends of Pakati has been granted permission to hold a bucket collection at the game between Scunthorpe United FC and Woking FC at Glanford Park/Attis Arena in Scunthorpe. We are therefore in need of support from willing volunteers to carry out the collection, particularly before the game, outside & inside the ground. Friends of Pakati will provide the buckets, a hi viz vest & a pin badge to show security so they can allow you to access the areas needed.

Hi All! Exam time is here again at both Pakati schools... Grade 7 students waiting for their end-of-year exams These are (some of) the students of Pakati Primary school who Friends of Pakati exist to support. The £1600 we are trying to raise (£840 so far) is to help the schools improve the learning environment is where donations can be made to help us reach our target.

Hi everyone! As we are trying to raise £1600 to have both Pakati schools become fully electrified, one of our supporters agreed to come on our podcast this week. We recorded a brief message.... To help us reach the target, please donate what you can here To find out more about the campaign, please see here: I recently sat down with fellow fan of the Iron Ryan Middleton at his home in Bottesford, talking about his journey into sports journalism, and we also discussed how he came to support Friends of Pakati.

Hi everyone! This weekend I had a visitor - someone who studied at Pakati Primary school during 2003 & 2004. Keith in his newly-acquired Scunthorpe United away kit Keith is living & working in the UK, & came up to visit from his home on the south coast of England. As a keen football fan, I invited him along to watch Scunthorpe United FC in their home game v Hartlepool United in the National League - tier 5 of the English football pyramid.

Welcome to this weeks blog ftom Friends of Pakati! Recently we launched an appeal for at least £1600, so we can help both Pakati schools to have electricity connected to every single classroom. See the link below for full details: In support of this appeal, I spoke with Roj Rahman at my home, Roj […]

Today we publish a recent discussion I had with a good friend who was at my home – Roj Rahman, current co-owner and Vice Chair of Scunthorpe United FC As you will hear in the recording, I have known him since 2014 after meeting at the last SUFC game of the 2013/14 season, which I […]

Hi everyone! Here at Friends of Pakati we are launching a campaign to raise funds on behalf of both Pakati schools, to the tune of £1600 at least. ‘Why?’ I hear you ask….please read below & I will explain. Pakati schools are in a rural setting, appriximately 60 miles by road from Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. […]

Something a bit different in this particular blog… I was talking to a friend of mine, a former Pakati student, & they sent me some videos from a funeral of an elderly relative. As you wull see below, the funeral was very much a celebration of the 91-year-olds life

It is the school holidays in Zimbabwe right now, and at Pakati Primary school there are the usual activities going on…Mr Mahachi, Head of the Primary school, sent me the images & information to use in this blog post. Every school holiday there are usually a handful of staff around, & they oversee the students […]

Welcome to this important new podcast, all about our sponsorship deal with Scunthorpe United FC. We talked about it earlier here: As usual, our Podcast host is Bradley Mell along with myself, and our special guest is another of our Trustees-in-waiting, Cuan Forrest – he has featured on the blog several times, but first […]

I sometimes struggle to create new blog posts. It often feels like I have already said things in previous posts, or that I really don't have much to say right now. That's how I am feeling right now...but strangely enough, it is often in these moments that some kind of inspiration mysteriously appears. Although this blog is ging to be a little 'bity',I do have a few things to discuss with you.

Well I am delighted to finally share with you all the news that our advert is finally up in the Attis Arena/Glanford Park stadium, home of Scunthorpe United FC! As part of the deal which was struck with the club, when we sponsored the shirt-sleeve for this coming season, we were entitled to have a […]

Hi everyone! Today we are reporting on our stall at the United by Steel Gala at Glanford Park, Scunthorpe United FC’s home ground. The pictures show our stall being put up, & being run during the day Thw event was a collaboration between Scunthorpe United and the front-of-shirt sponsor British Steel, bringing back to the […]

Welcome to Friends of Pakati whether it your first visit or not! We are actively fundraising to support the two Pakati schools in Zimbabwe – Primary and Secondary – and right now we need to help raise US$2000 (£1600 approx) to be able to complete the full electrification of both schools. In the near future […]

As you will probably already know, Friends of Pakati will be having a stall at the upcoming United by Steel Gala. It us being held at the home of Scunhorpe United, and is a joint venture between the club and its main shirt spinsor, British Steel. We mentioned the Gala recently: Also on the […]

Part of.the sponsorhip deal Friends of Pakati has with Scunthorpe United includes not just our badge on the sleeve…. …..but also a banner in the stadium, to be seen during every home game & and by any visitors to the club during the season. For us, it will mean a lot more exposure, and hopefully […]

Just recently I have moved back to my home town of Scunthorpe. I got asked today how long I had been away – only then did it strike me that it had been 50 years! So where have I been? What was I doing? And of course, what made me return?

Friends of Pakati has become more intertwined with Scunthorpe United FC recently, as evidenced here: We were invited to attend the above networking event at the club, and definitely found it productive, discussing ideas with a number of local businesses & sponsors like ourselves. A few days prior to this, the club launched their […]

Coming soon on August 2nd! Two events on the same day, both at the Attis Atena/Glanford Park - the home of Scunthorpe United FC. Firstly, we have the United by Steel Gala, bringing together the Iron and its new front-of-shirt sponsor, British Steel, main employer in the town of Scunthorpe. This is another chance for Friends of Pakati - new shirt sleeve sponsor - to raise significant funds and our profile too.

2026 has been a good year so far for us at Friends of Pakati - and it looks like it us only going to get better following the important announcement made recently by Scunthorpe United. The link for it is near the foot of this blog post, but there is much more to be covered before then. The year 2026 began with our podcast no.

Those who know me well can tell you I have two particular passions - Friends of Pakati, and Scunthorpe United - both of which have now joined together in a new deal! Thanks to support from our good friend Cuan Forrest (see ) Friends of Pakati has agreed to be a sponsor of Scunthorpe United's shirts for the upcoming 2026/27 season.

This week I heard from Mr Chizenya, Head of Pakati Secondary school. They have been hosting the Zonal sports competition, which included the following local schools: Dombodzvuku High, Mabika Secondary, Mapukutu Secondary, Mubamba Secondary, plus the hosts, Pakati. The sports covered are the usual ball games of Under 17's Football, Netball and Volleyball. Spectators settling in for the Zonal competition, hosted at Pakati Secondary school on 9th June…

Welcome back to Friends of Pakati, where we talk about how we help both Pakati schools, and report on everyday life & education at the Primary & Secondary schools. Following on from this recent post we asked the school for more information about their trip. My thanks go to Mr Chadenga, teacher of Maths, and Heritage Studies at Pakati Secondary school, for the images and information provided.