How Community Football Is Keeping Young People Out of Trouble in England and Wales

Across England and Wales, a quiet idea is gaining serious credibility: that a football pitch can do what lectures and crackdowns often cannot. Free grassroots sessions, run by the charitable arms of professional clubs, are increasingly recognised as a genuine tool for social change — reaching young people who distrust formal authority and giving them somewhere to belong.

The scale of investment is growing. The Premier League Kicks Police Partnerships Fund is channelling more than £2m over two years to 43 club charities across England and Wales. In Merseyside alone, organisations such as Everton in the Community run over 30 free weekly sessions for young people aged 8 to 19, creating safe, structured spaces during exactly the hours when boredom and risk tend to peak.

The evidence is striking. Everton in the Community says crime and antisocial behaviour fall by between 75% and 82% during session times around Merseyside. Independent research by the Carnegie School of Sport at Leeds Beckett University found that 93% of participants believed the programme helped them get into less trouble, and 86% believed it had improved their career opportunities — with more than 300 Kicks alumni now employed in club charity roles themselves.

Practitioners say the magic lies in trust rather than tackling. Ivan Liburd, who leads Leicester Nirvana FC, put it plainly: “Communities like ours can access these young people at their best.” Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell agreed that “grassroots football has a real ability to connect with young people” in ways traditional interventions struggle to match. With around 15 million people playing football regularly in England — generating an estimated £15.9bn in annual social value and £3.2bn in healthcare savings, according to Football Foundation figures — the humble local kickabout is proving to be one of the country’s most powerful community assets.