Kicks began as a pilot project in London between the Premier League and the Metropolitan Police in 2006, with the aim of using the power of professional football to bring communities together and engage young people in positive activities at times when they are at risk of crime or being the victims of crime. This project is aimed at 8 to 18 year olds.
Kicks vision is to: “build safer, stronger, more respectful communities through the development of young peoples’ potential”, targeting youngsters who had previously proven difficult to reach and guiding them towards a range of healthy and constructive activities.
The growth of Kicks has been phenomenal and today 42 Premier League and Football League clubs run a combined 112 projects across England, with 45,000 kids engaged in their local community in just one year and 85,000 personal outcomes achieved overall, including 55,00 educational qualifications.
One of the main aims of Kicks is to encourage volunteering and create routes into education, training and employment. More than 4,200 young people have volunteered at projects nationally, with over 1,000 football-specific qualifications and accreditation achieved in the process.
Almost 400 young people have gone on to gain employment within one of the 42 club community schemes, where they act as positive role models for peers within their communities.
Kicks is targeted at those living in communities where they are considered to be more vulnerable to crime either as victims or potential offenders, and the project works with 650 local Kicks partners, 19 police forces and 60 local authorities.
A key objective is to break down barriers between police and young people and reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in the targeted areas.
In Nottingham, we work with Nottingham Forest in the Community to deliver three sessions a week from 6 till 9pm in Clifton working with 150 young people 48 weeks of the year. Data has shown that crime and anti-social behaviour is reduced locally when these sessions are delivered.
Core Staff
Project Manager – James Lake
Project Coordinator – Josh Stevenson
For more information about Kicks please contact James on 0115 9055 896 or EMAIL
