History

YABAC (Young and Black and Christian) Football Club was founded in 1969 by the Balham 7th Day Adventist Church. The late Ben Lilley was the first manager, followed by George Cascoe and Leonard ‘Budgie’ Carr’. Playing in the Premier Division, it was the only black football club at that level. For over twenty years the club was a competitive force on the pitch, and a thriving community off the field. Play stopped in the early 1990s but YABAC has continued to be an active football-loving family, growing from one generation into the next. The club’s name has also evolved, standing for Young and Black and Cool for many years, before becoming Young and Black and Cultured, which it proudly stands for today.

The YABAC F.C. Community Group was established in early 2022 as a not-for-profit organisation to support community initiatives. It was born after meeting on several occasions to celebrate the lives of past players and club members. To honour their memory and the club’s legacy, a group of ex-players decided to reconnect the YABAC community, with a view to using their collective football passion to help the south London community they know and love.

A Word From Our Manager