The Memon Association was set up in Leicester in 1978 –Abdul Sattar Jussab, Abu Bhai Bonanza, Mussa Nathavani, Majid Suida, IqbalSattar Chambo, Zikar Mussa, Shafik Giga, Sattar Omar Nurmahommed and OsmanAlimohamed.Initially the Memon association did not have a home or acentre to call their own and organised Memon events were few and farbetween. The main gathering of Memons occurred during weddings andfunerals.The original committee members were instrumental in acquiringa centre and managed to secure a premise off Uppingham road in 1985 throughfunds donated by the local community and was mainly used for cards. Therewere plans for indoor football and volleyball but there never materialised dueto the awkward nature of the interior of the building. The originalcentre was then let out as a factory premises. The premises were thenunfortunately destroyed in a fire in 1987.Between 1987 and 2001 Memon Association operated from acouncil office in Berners Street and was driven by the late Iqbal SattarChambo. This period also saw the birth of the Sunday Youth which wasevery Sunday with Volleyball and then Memon Youth Committee was born. The YouthCommittee was the brainchild of Ashraf Okhai and Altaf Gaffar Ismail who werethe driving force behind the organising of the sports tournament whichconsisted of indoor football initially. The proceeds from the entrancefees were utilised to organise a get together were prizes were given out to thewinners and AKNI was the main attraction for the gathered Memons.Memon Youth started organising sports tournaments every year and held an annual event in different centres like Highfields Community Centre for its prize giving and get together. These events kept the fire burning and with the grace of almighty Allah we were blessed with the opportunity to purchase the current premises in 2001.The current centre was a Working Man’s Club complete with Bar, Snooker Room and Function Rooms. The first elections were held in September 2001 and late Iqbal Sattar Chambo was elected as the Chairman, a posthe held until his untimely death. His was a great loss to the community and is still being felt today. May Allah grant him Jannat ul firdos.Elections were held bi-annually and at the last election Mohammed Jakhura was elected as the Chairman. The new committee have set upon a plan to improve the centre and the first phase was the refurbishment of the current centre.The refurbishment was completed and the centre was re-opened in August 2009 with a ceremony attended by a cross section of the Memon community in Leicester. This was the first phase in the new committee and community’s plans for the Memon Centre in Leicester.Inshallah with the support of the community in Leicester, the committee are looking to embark on the next phase which is to develop the grounds at the back of the centre and build a new sports/community centre. Due to financial constraints, the initial plan is to develop an outdoor activities centre before incorporating it into a full-fledged indoor facility.