As part of the Premier League Kicks national launch week, Northampton Town Football Club’s Community Trust invited Northamptonshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold to one of the club's regular free football sessions at Glamis Hall community centre in Queensway, Wellingborough.
The ‘Making Northamptonshire Safer’ fund provides grants to groups carrying out projects that support the aims of the Police and Crime Plan, in this case early intervention and preventing crime. The visit served to showcase how the grant is being used for the football sessions and the young people’s engagement.
Premier League Kicks (funded by the Premier League’s charitable fund: PLCF) uses the reach and appeal of football and Northampton Town to target vulnerable young people at risk of gang culture, anti-social behaviour and crime to engage in positive activities. Northampton Town's Egli Kaja attended to meet and talk to the young people and join in with some football. Participants will be offered matchday tickets this season as part of the project.
Locally, the Premier League Kicks programme runs weekly free football sessions across seven sites; in Blackthorn in Northampton and in Kingsway and Queensway in Wellingborough. The project includes girls after school clubs and disability sessions. Participation numbers have been consistently high and sessions are supported by Northants police; local PCSOs attend sessions when they can to form positive relationships with the local community.
The education element also covered by the grant and PLCF involves offering free crime awareness workshops to schools. Using Fearless resources, community trust coaches and staff deliver workshops to staff and students around gangs, county lines, knife crime and anti-social behaviour. Schools are adopting these lessons and resources into their PSHE curriculum.
For more details please see fearless.org/en