Premier League and club charities to work with Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner to build safer, more inclusive communities
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 Lancashire 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.”
Matt Hilton, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Blackpool FC Community Trust 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 Blackpool.
“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.
