The first University of Worcester students to benefit from support from the Joel Richards Scholarship Fund have completed their initial training course as referees.
The students, who study a range of subjects at the University, successfully completed their training with Worcestershire FA at the University’s St John’s Campus, where they also had the opportunity to meet Suzanne Richards MBE, Joel’s mother.
Joel was a talented level 4 referee and a much-loved second-year student at the University of Worcester when, at just 19, he became the youngest victim of the Sousse massacre in 2015. The massacre was perpetrated by a terrorist gunman who killed 38 holidaymakers in their resort on the Tunisian coast, of whom 30 were British. Joel’s uncle Ade, and grandfather Pat, were also murdered and his younger brother Owen was wounded.
Following Joel’s tragic death Suzanne and Owen founded Smile for Joel, a charity which has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds to support families torn apart by terrorism and murder.
Shortly after the massacre, the University named the principal conference and entertainment suite at the University of Worcester Arena for Joel, creating the Joel Richards Suite.
Following the 10-year remembrance event for the victims in July 2025, Suzanne, Owen and the University’s Vice Chancellor, Professor David Green CBE decided to create the Joel Richards Scholarship Fund, to support University of Worcester students to gain recognised national qualifications in such areas as refereeing, coaching and first aid.
Now, today’s generation of students are benefitting.
Jack Lambert, who’s in the first year of his Geography degree at Worcester was among the first to take the qualification.
“This will mean I can help referee in the community, using my qualification to help engage children and young people in football,” he said. “It is a privilege to be offered the chance to follow in Joel’s footsteps and help people in the community.”
Suzanne Richards MBE said: “It was wonderful to spend time at the University of Worcester, meeting the first students to benefit from the Joel Richards Scholarship Fund.”
“As Joel’s mum it was incredibly special to see these young adults taking their first steps into refereeing and following in Joel’s footsteps,” she continued. “I hope they enjoy every minute of their journey and make many special memories along the way.”
Suzanne holds an Honorary Doctorate and an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Worcester; the two top honours the institution awards, to mark her dedication to creating practical support and help for others who have suffered terrible loss.
“Knowing Joel’s passion for refereeing and for helping children, young people and the community is helping to open doors for others makes me immensely proud,” she said.
Professor David Green CBE DL, Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University, said: “It is an honour to do all we can to support Suzanne’s and Owen’s work. This new scholarship fund is finding a further way of ensuring that Joel’s legacy is kept alive through combining education with a passion for sport and helping others.”
He continued: “Additional qualifications and experiences such as this are so helpful to students flourish while they study. It is vital that opportunities are made available to students with the strong motivation to contribute to the community, but who lack the funds to pay the fees needed for the courses needed to gain those skills and qualifications. Creating this scholarship fund will make a real difference to the lives of hundreds of students who in turn will go on to help tens of thousands of children and young people, whilst building on Joel’s legacy.”
The first funds were raised at a talk given by Professor Green on ‘Tales from the Camino’, where he was interviewed by ex-BBC reporter Justyn Surrall, about undertaking his 280 kilometre walk from Porto to Santiago de Compostela along the world famous ‘Camino’ to raise student scholarships and hardship funds.
The talk took place in the Joel Richards conference suite at the University of Worcester Arena raising over £2,000 as the initial boost to establishing the scholarship fund. Subsequently, the first home game of the Worcester Wolves men’s basketball 2026-27 season saw a further £500 raised. Discussions are now underway to organise further events to ensure a more substantial, permanent endowment is created.
The University’s continuing commitment to supporting students has recently been nationally recognised with a shortlist nomination for Outstanding Support for Students at the prestigious Times Higher Education Awards.
For information on courses at University of Worcester visit www.worcester.ac.uk or for application enquiries telephone 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk