27 May 2026 •
Local rail operator c2c Railway has announced that its annual Kick4Kindness football tournaments have now raised over £12k for local mental health charities.
c2c has today announced that last Thursday’s second annual Kick4Kindness football tournament, again held at Southend United’s iconic Roots Hall stadium, has helped to raise a further £5k for Basildon Mind, SECE (South East and Central Essex) Mind and Basildon & Thurrock and Southend Samaritans. This takes the total raised for these important charities to over £12k in the last year.
Watch our short feature film of the 2026 Kick4Kindness tournament below.
During a stunning spring day at Roots Hall, eight industry teams competed for the Kick4Kindness trophy, with Southeastern Railway claiming the title after some hard-fought matches and a tense final against the Rail Delivery Group (RDG).
Across the 2025 and 2026 events, over £12k has now been raised for mental health charities – with c2c-sponsored Southend United kindly providing their Roots Hall home for the events.
Speaking about the tournament, Iain Palmer, c2c’s Head of Revenue Protection & Security and Kick4Kindness Event Director, said:
“I want to first thank everybody that came down to Roots Hall for such an incredible occasion and to support these amazing charities. This year’s event was a great success and I would like to further recognise the colleagues across c2c for their hard work in pulling it together, as well as the great people at Southend United who let us use their stadium and make the game feel very special.”
Denise Kent, CEO, Basildon Mind, said:
“Mental Health Awareness Week this year called on all of us to move from awareness into action — and Kick4Kindness arriving just days later felt like exactly that. Seeing this tournament return for a second year, with so many rail industry teams giving their all on the Roots Hall pitch for local mental health causes, is action in its truest sense.
“The money raised will make a tangible difference to people across Basildon and Essex who need our support, and it sends a powerful message that our communities are willing to show up — not just once, but year after year. We’re so grateful to c2c for their continued commitment in raising awareness of Mental Health, and to every team and supporter who made it such a brilliant day.”
Southend United’s Commercial & Marketing Manager, Rylee Doe, added:
“I’m delighted Southend United could hold our partners c2c at Roots Hall for their annual Kick4Kindness tournament. As a football club, we care about mental health dearly and we’re proud to stand alongside colleagues in supporting our local community. Well done to everyone at c2c on a fantastic tournament and congratulations to Southeastern Railway on winning!”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
Anglia’s journey towards Great British Railways
Anglia’s integrated railway brings together the leadership of c2c, Greater Anglia and Network Rail Anglia under a single, unified structure.
This new structure is part of wider plans to create Great British Railways (GBR), bringing track and train closer together to deliver a better, more joined-up railway for customers and communities in Anglia.
The structure is designed to support closer operational coordination across infrastructure, train services and customer delivery.
Existing ticketing and customer arrangements remain unchanged, and customers will continue to see the current company identities as the railway transitions towards GBR.
The Anglia route serves a fast-growing region, connecting commuters, leisure travellers, ports, power stations and more, as well as Stansted and Southend airports.
About c2c
- c2c is the award-winning train operator running services between Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness, serving 26 stations in East London and South Essex.
- c2c is one of the UK’s most punctual and popular train operators and nearly 37.3 million journeys are made on its services every year.
- The operation of all c2c services transferred into public ownership on Sunday 20 July 2025 and is managed by DFTO (DfT Operator Ltd).
- For more information email mediaenquiries@c2crail.net
About DFTO
- DFTO is the government’s public sector rail owning group. Its purpose is to bring all currently privately-owned train operators into public ownership in advance of the creation of Great British Railways in 2027.
- The group’s current train operating companies are: c2c, Greater Anglia, LNER, Northern, Southeastern, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express and WM Trains (London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway).
- DFTO runs more than 8,500 services each weekday and delivers more than 660 million customer journeys across its networks every year.
Images
- Featured Image: Kick4Kindness Final 2026 (credit: Andy Rose photography)
- First: Kick4Kindness 2026 trophy (credit: Andy Rose photography)
- Second: Kick4Kindness 2026 medals (credit: Andy Rose photography)
- Third: Iain Palmer, c2c Head of Revenue Protection & Security (credit: Andy Rose photography)
- Fourth: The winners of Kick4Kindness 2026, Southeaster Railway (credit: Andy Rose photography)
- Fifth: c2c team (credit: Andy Rose photography)
- Sixth: The Kick4Kindness Referees (credit: Andy Rose photography)
- Seventh: Kick4Kindness 2026 Runners-Up, RDG (credit: Andy Rose photography)
- Eighth: l-r Hannah Bridgeman, Amulet Commercial Relationship Director and Kam Wallis, c2c Safety & Security Manager (credit: Andy Rose photography)
- Ninth: Roots Hall stadium