Two brothers who grew up in Southampton have been appointed MBEs in the King's birthday honours for Services to Sport for Social Change in Lesotho.
Steve and Pete Fleming, 47 and 43, have been recognised for founding and running the charity Kick4Life.
The social enterprise and football club uses sport to transform the lives of children and young people in Lesotho, in Southern Africa.
The brothers attended Bellemoor School - now Upper Shirley High - and Taunton College during the 1990s,.
They founded Kick4Life in 2005 having completed a 250-mile sponsored dribble across Africa, before launching operations in Lesotho in 2007.
Kick4Life has since reached more than 250,000 children and young people, with a track record of delivering health education and life-skills training, supporting and empowering vulnerable girls to end violence and exploitation, and building pathways into education, training, and sporting careers.
Kick4Life now employs 50 people, with Steve and Pete leading a range of innovative, high impact initiatives which provide young people in Lesotho with opportunities to transform their lives and contribute to the development of their communities.
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In a joint statement, Steve and Pete Fleming said: "The journey with Kick4Life officially started in November 2005, when the charity was founded, and it symbolically began in May of that year when we completed our 250-mile football dribble.
“In truth, it is rooted much further back, in our childhood garden in Radway Road, on Southampton Common and in the school playgrounds and playing fields of our home city.
“That's where our love of sport began, charging after footballs and swinging cricket bats, and forging friendships which last to this day.”
They went on to say: “We don't think those young lads ever imagined that it would lead to a moment like this, being appointed Members of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the King's birthday honours list for Services to Sport for Social Change in Lesotho."
On learning of their awards, the brothers added: “It has been a privilege to dedicate ourselves to building and running an organisation using sport to transform lives in Lesotho.
“We are thrilled to receive this award and we would like to thank the many people who have made vital contributions towards the success and social impact of Kick4Life.”
Steve now lives in St Neots in Cambridgeshire and Pete is based in Cape Town in South Africa, with the pair regularly returning to Southampton to visit parents and friends who still live in the city.
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