Mike de Giorgio | Using Sport to Transform Young Lives | Greenhouse Sports | Power of Sport Ep.9

In this episode of the Power of Sport, I sit down with Mike de Giorgio - the founder of Greenhouse Sports, a charity that has used sport and mentoring to transform the lives of over 60,000 young people across London. Mike sold his financial consultancy business in 2001 and chose to put his energy, skills and experience into something with a very different kind of purpose. What began as a small holiday coaching pilot on a housing estate in West London has grown into 65 full-time programmes running across 16 London boroughs - with full-time coach-mentors embedded inside schools, 48 weeks a year. We talk about what drove that decision, what it really means to use sport as a tool for change, the model that makes Greenhouse Sports unlike anything else out there, and what over two decades of doing this work has taught him. Greenhouse Sports is exactly the kind of organisation this podcast exists to shine a light on - independent, standalone, and doing extraordinary work without the backing of a professional club or federation behind them. The sport for good space is so much bigger and richer than football foundations and club partner charities, and Mike's story is a powerful reminder of that. Mike was awarded an OBE for his services to sport and community and was named one of the Evening Standard's most influential Londoners. This is a brilliant conversation about purpose, impact, and the real power of sport. #PowerOfSport #GreenhouseSports #SportForGood #YouthDevelopment #SocialImpact #Mentoring #London #Podcast #IndependentCharity #sportforchange