The Premier League has announced a continuation of a pilot project that aims to build stronger connections between professional football clubs and their local police forces.
Between 2023 and 2026, the Premier League is investing more than £500,000 into the Police Partnership Pilot to support 26 club charities to work with their local police forces and build community relationships. This investment is match funded by police forces resulting in more than £1million of investment into local communities.
The Police Partnership Pilot is open to the charitable arms of professional football clubs in the Premier League, English Football League and National League. Through the pilot, clubs across England and Wales will work with their local police forces to inspire young people to reach their potential, providing them with positive opportunities which divert them away from possible involvement in anti-social behaviour.
The pilot projects are delivered through the national Premier League Kicks programme, which sees 93 professional football clubs in some of the most high-need areas in England and Wales run free weekly football sessions and positive activities. Established in partnership with the Metropolitan Police, Premier League Kicks delivery by clubs over the past 20 years has helped to inspire young people to reach their potential and create positive relationships between police and young people.
The pilot projects will build on these relationships, with projects tailored to individual need to support referred young people who are known to the police, helping to build community relationships and reduce the risk of offending across England and Wales.
Clare Sumner, Chief Policy and Social Impact Officer at the Premier League, said: “The Premier League has a long history of working with local police forces to provide positive opportunities for young people in our communities. We are delighted to expand this work, providing more positive interventions that will engage and support those who need us most.”
Funded projects within the pilot have been co-designed by clubs and police to positively impact young people. They include one-to-one mentoring for young people at risk of criminal exploitation, and intervention programmes to tackle knife crime and violence against women and girls.
To best support young people in the Lancashire region, nine club charities from across the leagues, including newly promoted Premier League side Burnley and National League North side AFC Fylde, will work in collaboration with the Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner, Lancashire Police and Lancashire Violence Reduction Network to provide young people with positive pathways and diversionary activity to help them to reach their full potential.
The nine clubs will deliver targeted one-to-one mentoring and police-led workshops in addition to their core Premier League Kicks delivery.
Clive Grunshaw, Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire said: “I’m proud to have secured over £100,000 in additional funding for Lancashire, which I’m match-funding and further enhancing to ensure that every part of the county benefits from this initiative. This investment will support hundreds of young people and help steer them away from the cycle of offending.
“Preventing crime and protecting people from becoming victims in the first place is just as vital as strong, proactive enforcement. Lancashire’s football community trusts have a proven track record of delivering impactful programmes, and this funding will enable all nine trusts to expand their work across the county to help keep our communities safe.
“I remain committed to working with partners, local organisations and the Government to bring further investment into Lancashire. By listening to residents and addressing their concerns, I will continue to ensure we have an efficient, effective police force – driven by strong leadership and robust accountability.”
Chief Inspector Gemma Barr, Operational Lead at the Violence Reduction Network, said: “Over the past five years, we’ve seen the powerful impact of working in partnership with Lancashire’s football club community trusts to engage and inspire young people. These trusted relationships have helped us provide young people with positive opportunities that build confidence, reduce vulnerability, and divert them away from criminality.
“We’re really pleased to now be part of this new Premier League partnership pilot, which builds on that foundation and allows us to reach even more young people. Prevention is at the heart of what we do, and is most effective when it’s done in partnership. Projects like this are a vital part of giving young people the support and positive direction they need to thrive.”
Helen Gurman, Chief Executive Officer of Burnley FC in the Community, said: “We’re incredibly proud of the targeted intervention and youth crime prevention work we’ve delivered over the years, and we’ve witnessed the profound impact it has had on young people in Burnley.
“We’re delighted to be continuing our ongoing partnership with the Premier League and the Lancashire Violence Reduction Network. This collaboration enables us to reach even more young people, reduce anti-social behaviour in their communities, and support them in making positive changes both in and out of school.”
The Police Partnerships Pilot builds on long-term partnerships at both local and national level between the Premier League and forces across the country.
This includes the existing relationship between the Premier League Charitable Fund and National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), which sees the charitable arm of the Premier League work closely with the NPCC and 43 police forces across England and Wales to use the power of football to help reduce anti-social behaviour and foster meaningful change in areas across England and Wales.
To find out more, please visit www.premierleague.com
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Notes to editors
About Premier League Kicks
Premier League Kicks inspires young people to achieve their potential and develop life skills with access to free weekly football and multi-sport, mentoring and education workshops. The community programme has engaged more than 550,000 young people of all backgrounds and abilities over the last 17 years. More than one million hours of free sessions have been delivered, with 93 professional football club community organisations currently delivering the programme. Of the 4,900+ venues across England and Wales, more than half are in the top 30% most deprived neighbourhoods. More than 21,000 volunteers have helped on Premier League Kicks, 93% of whom are former participants, with 20% of the workforce former participants. Premier League players who took part in Kicks as youngsters include Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling, Declan Rice and Wilfried Zaha. The Premier League has invested £91.7m into the programme, via the Premier League Charitable Fund. Premier League Kicks currently works in 38 of 44 police force areas across England and Wales. 36% of attendees are from ethnically diverse communities and there are more than 23,500 female participants.
About the Premier League
The Premier League produces some of the most competitive and compelling football in the world. The League and its clubs use the power and popularity of the competition to inspire fans, communities, and partners in the UK and across the world. The Premier League brings people together from all backgrounds. It is a competition for everyone, everywhere and is available to watch in 900 million homes in 189 countries.
About the Premier League Charitable Fund
The Premier League Charitable Fund was established in 2010 to distribute funding provided by the Premier League and its partners to professional football club charities across England and Wales, supporting them in their delivery in thousands of community venues and schools across the country. A total of 106 club charities are supported across the Premier League, English Football League and National League.
Support for community provision through the Premier League Charitable Fund more than tripled in 10 years, with the Premier League now investing over £35m per year into community activity and programmes. More than £325m has been invested to-date, with approximately 2.5m participants taking part in programmes funded by the Premier League via the Premier League Charitable Fund over the last 14 years.
The Premier League Charitable Fund is a registered charity, number 1137208. Find out more at www.premierleague.com/plcf.