AS I am taken through Whitehawk FC’s ground by head honchos Andy Schofield and Kevin Miller, we pass by a group of fans singing around a table.

“Are they working on new chants?” I asked.

“No, they’re rehearsing a play about a Macedonian club that gets bought by a drinks company,” said Kevin.

“They’re going to perform it at the Brighton Festival next year. It’s quite Whitehawk.”

So it is.

Tucked up in East Brighton Park, Whitehawk FC has been known as a cult club thanks to its dedicated fans, the “Ultras”.

But commercial manager Kevin has been making a real push to connect with communities across the city.

“When we launched Whitehawk In The Community earlier this year, we thought we’d run a trial session for kids to play football at the Crew Club,” the East Londoner said.

“We had 65 kids and 35 parents turn up. It was overwhelming.

“Now we’re starting the Crew Club Hawks teams for kids.

“Last year’s under-12s went unbeaten the whole season.”

And Whitehawk In The Community is just one of the initiatives started by the club.

Kevin was most affected by Hawks Heroes, a project for unfit men on the Whitehawk estate over 30.

“They weighed about 284 stone combined,” he said.

“They started off training for 30 minutes and getting tired, then 40, then 50.

“They even set up a WhatsApp to show off to each other how well they were eating.

“In the end they all got together and played a match in front of 200 people against Montpelier Villa.

“They lost, but that wasn’t really what mattered.”

Adam Butterworth was one of the Hawks Heroes.

The 37-year-old visited his doctor after the first Hawks Heroes training session and was told he had anaemia.

He needed six emergency blood transfusions and was eventually diagnosed with bowel cancer.

But still he fought through chemotherapy and played in the final Hawks Heroes match.

Now he is on the road to recovery.

“It’s a pride thing,” said Kevin.

“When kids see their dads getting fit and playing football, they’re inspired themselves to do it.”

But when Kevin took up his post in August last year, Whitehawk FC was in a different state.

“We were getting crowds of 250 to 285 on average, we weren’t feeling particularly buoyant,” he said.

“We were still looking for a major sponsor for our shirt with two weeks to go.”

But despite the club suffering relegation to the eighth tier in May, crowd numbers have remarkably gone up.

Kevin believed the club’s community efforts have spearheaded that.

“There’s so much potential and passion here,” he said.

“It’s not like we have to go out and convince people to get involved. They’re just waiting for the chance.

“Especially in the estate, people want to improve themselves and get into something, they just don’t know how.”

Club chairman Andy Schofield, who has lived in Whitehawk for 30 years, believes it’s part of a bigger change in Whitehawk’s image.

“Whenever there’s an article on crime in the estate you always get comments on the area being horrible and everyone being on benefits,” he said. “The truth is Whitehawk has changed. It’s not one of the most deprived areas in the country any more.

“Yeah, we still have some problems to do with disposable income.

“But we have a thriving community here.”

Then again, maybe it is just the football.

“I went to last Saturday’s match against Hendon and typically everyone was loving it,” he said.

“But the day after I watched Arsenal v Crystal Palace.

“I missed two goals because I was too busy getting frisked.

“That’s not what you want on a match day.”

As well as vegan food and club-branded beer, Whitehawk has a strict no swearing policy.

And you can drink on the terraces, said Kevin.

“The match is only part of the day. That’s how it should be.”