Premier League Inspires
Premier League Inspires is a personal development programme, developed by the Premier League and professional football clubs.
It is predominantly delivered in secondary schools and pupil referral units.
Launched in 2019, the programme uses the power of football to inspire young people aged 11-18 at risk of not reaching their potential, to develop the personal skills and positive attitudes needed to succeed in life.
Premier League Inspires empowers participants to develop personal, social, employability and life-skills, through a series of regular face-to-face group sessions, mentoring, workshops and social-action projects, providing pupils with the help they need now and supporting them to plan for their future.
More than 55,000 young people have received more than 135,000 hours of targeted support across 1,000+ schools and educational facilities since the programme's launch.
Over £20 million has been invested by the Premier League via the Premier League Foundation to date, with a further £7.5 million committed over the next two years.
In season 2026/27, delivery has expanded to 61 club charities.
In 2024, the Premier League Foundation commissioned an evaluation of the impact of the Premier League Inspires programme on participants' attendance and behaviour. It was conducted by the Sport Industry Research Group and Sheffield Institute of Education, Sheffield Hallam University.
The independent research revealed that 92 per cent of schools believe that Premier League Inspires helps to improve pupils' behaviour, while 96 per cent state that the programme increases pupils' engagement in lessons.
The research also revealed that almost 80 per cent of schools felt that Premier League Inspires helped to reduce pupil absenteeism, with 86 per cent saying that the programme also reduced pupils’ risk of exclusion.
Premier League Inspires Challenge
Funding from the Premier League and Premier League Foundation's partners also supports youth social action through the annual Premier League Inspires Challenge.
The Challenge helps young people to learn about some of the challenges facing their football club and community, exploring ways to overcome these issues.
This season's Inspires Challenge theme is 'Future world of work'. Previous challenge themes included:
2019/2020: This is everyone's game, focused on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)
2020/21: Team Talk, focused on mental health and the importance of communication
2021/22 and 2022/23 - Protect the Planet, focused on environmental and climate action
2023/24 - Inside Matters, focused on mental health as part of the Premier League's Inside Matters campaign
2024/25 - Gender Equality, focused on tackling gender inequality at football clubs and in communities
2025/26 - Inside Matters, projects designed to help boost mental wellbeing as part of the Premier League's Inside Matters campaign
Premier League Inspires objectives
Through Premier League Inspires, the Premier League and professional football club charities will:
- support young people to improve their wellbeing
- develop young people's character and life-skills
- help schools keep pupils present and committed
- provide young people with access to more opportunities
- enable young people to plan for the future and be work ready