EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Samson Tovide has been working hard to give opportunities to kids in his hometown of Hackney as well as playing his part in Colchester United’s promotion push
It’s no Wembley Stadium, but Hackney Marshes is widely recognised as the mecca of Sunday League football.
Samson Tovide, born and bred in Hackney, racked up plenty of miles on that hallowed turf during his youth. So when the Colchester United striker hatched the idea of forming a community football team, Get Rich Together FC, back in 2021, there was only one place they were going to play.
Tovide’s own grassroots journey was almost cut short before it even got off the ground. The 21-year-old wasn’t permitted to play for a team as a kid because his mum wasn’t convinced he was cut out to be a footballer. It was only after she went away on a holiday that Tovide – after roping in the coach of the team he had secretly joined at the time to plead his case – was allowed to pursue his dream.
Things haven’t worked out too badly. Tovide is now living the dream after chalking up just shy of 100 appearances for Colchester. But the creation of Get Rich Together FC has enabled him to give something back to the local community as well as playing professionally.
“I saw a chance to give something back to young people, an opportunity for them to do something,” Tovide explains. “It’s something nobody has ever really done.
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“It’s taken off so now the aim is to get into non-league and work our way up the ladder. We train a couple of times a week, normally on my day off so I can do some coaching, and then play a game on the Sunday.”
Lots of people talk about doing their bit for the local community, but Tovide walks the walk: he coaches and manages the team, made up of players aged 16-19, alongside three friends from school. Training often takes place on his designated day off, so he can fully immerse himself in his role as coach. The idea has already paid dividends: three players have been snapped up by EFL clubssince GRT FC was founded in 2021. The initiative has helped others gain exposure, in the form of a documentary with Under Armour.
While Tovide’s focus was on providing an opportunity for others, he has also benefitted, unearthing a love of coaching. While he still has the whole of his career ahead of him, he has already sketched out tentative plans to pursue that avenue when the time comes.
“Coaching has become my release,” Tovide explains when asked if his non-stop involvement in the sport ever becomes too much.
“It’s still football, but it helps me switch off. You see football from a different perspective at that level. Managing has actually helped me individually on the pitch, too, in terms of my movement. Small details like that. I watch a lot of manager interviews and tactical stuff.
“I’m only young and there’s so much I want to achieve in football but I’ve already got something I want to come back to [in coaching].”
Despite being just 21, Tovide is Colchester’s longest serving player. An all-action forward who exudes main character energy, Tovide is the latest homegrown talent to graduate from the club’s highly-regarded Category Two academy with flying colours. Like Sammie Smzodics – the Ipswich Town striker who has made an impact in the Premier League this season – Tovide seems destined for big things.
Tovide found solace at Colchester after being released by Leyton Orient following their relegation out of the Football League. Then aged just 15, Tovide credits the impressive facilities and support network on offer at Colchester, who are one of the few clubs outside the Championship with a Category Two-ranked Academy for his growth.
The freedom he and other academy stars have been given is key. The pressures of academy – and senior – football hasn’t changed Tovide, who is still the charismatic ball of energy who first bounded through the doors in Essex all those years ago.
“You have to be yourself in football because you can get yourself in all kinds of trouble trying to be something you’re not. Especially where I’m from (Hackney); you can’t really be fake. You’ve got to be true to yourself.
“I wouldn’t say its been an easy journey but Colchester are a good club and they’ve helped me in so many ways. It’s a brilliant set-up: the academy, the set-up and the support we had [coming through] was great. There’s no pressure or anything either. The coaches I’ve had have always given me the freedom to express myself because I’ve got that big personality and I like to put myself about. I like to get things going.
“For me, I have the privilege of playing with some great players at Colchester and they’ve helped me adapt and just be me.”
Colchester’s promotion push under Danny and Nicky Cowley has born fruit to Tovide’s most productive season at senior level. He has amassed 12 goal contributions in 23 league games for the U’s this term, with only Lyle Taylor (10) bettering his tally of seven goals. Those figures are even more impressive when you factor in that Tovide missed just shy of two months with a hamstring injury across Christmas and the early weeks of 2025.
The U’s were the division’s form team and unbeaten in 13 before coming unstuck against another team in a painfully bloated promotion race in Bradford City last week. Perspective provides solace to such a setback. A dark cloud has hung over the Colchester Community Stadium in recent years, with the club enduring their fair share of misery. Their highest league finish across the last four seasons was 15th and it wasn’t until the final day of the 2023-24 campaign that they officially retained their EFL status.
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Flirting with promotion, then, has made for a pleasant change. With seasoned EFL operators in the Cowley’s now at the helm, slowly but surely, the tide has turned. The sun is shining on Colchester again after some dark days.
“The last couple of seasons have been chaotic,” adds Tovide. “I’ve seen everything; I’ve been through the relegation scares, I’ve seen all the changes – the good and bad. So obviously to be in and around the promotion picture for the first time is nice.
“The mentality we’ve got now has changed. It’s really good now. We know we’re a good team and we believe it. We can feel that the fans believe it.
“We started the season off slow but we’re flying now. We’ve found our rhythm and figured out everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s clicked.”
Whatever the rest of the season may bring, Tovide and Co are up for it. “We fancy our chances against anyone – bring it on.”
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