The Premier League has announced increased investment to support stronger connections between professional football clubs and their local police forces.
Forty-nine professional football club charities in the Premier League and English Football League will receive a share of £900,000 in Premier League funding to deliver Police Partnerships projects with their local police forces, aimed at strengthening community relationships and reducing the risk of reoffending.
The Premier League investment is match funded by police forces, alongside additional contributions from statutory partners including Violence Reduction Units and Police and Crime Commissioners. Together, this brings the total investment into local communities to more than £2million.
Through this funding, club charities will work with their local police forces to inspire young people to reach their potential, providing them with positive opportunities that divert them away from possible involvement in anti-social behaviour, crime and youth violence.
"The Premier League has a long-standing commitment to working with local police forces to create positive opportunities for young people in communities across the country," said Premier League Chief Policy and Social Impact Officer Clare Sumner CBE.
"We are delighted to build on this partnership, expanding our reach to provide even more support and positive interventions for those who need it most."
The projects have been co-designed by football club charities and police forces to deliver meaningful, targeted interventions for young people. These include one-to-one mentoring for young people at risk of criminal exploitation, as well as programmes designed to rebuild trust between police and communities.
Activities will also address key issues such as anti-social behaviour, violence against women and girls and knife crime.
Delivery will take place through Premier League Kicks, the Premier League's longest-standing community programme that recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary and provides young people with access to free weekly football and multi-sport sessions, mentoring and education workshops.
'Premier League Kicks provides a place where young people can belong'
"Thanks to the Premier League's investment, we are supporting club charities to use the power of football to drive lasting change in their local communities," said Premier League Foundation Chief Executive Alex White.
"Football occupies a unique place in communities, with club charities able to provide positive spaces where young people can be themselves. Working alongside police forces and other local partners, they can combine trusted relationships, safe places to play and targeted support to help young people to reach their potential."
This latest investment from the Premier League and police forces builds on the 2023-2025 Police Partnerships Pilot, through which the Premier League and police forces jointly invested more than £1million into local communities.
Funding for the Police Partnerships projects is distributed through the Premier League Foundation, building on its established relationship with the National Police Chief's Council.
Through this partnership, the Premier League’s charitable arm works closely with all 43 police forces across England and Wales to use football to tackle anti-social behaviour and create stronger communities where everyone can thrive.
How will the projects work?
- The club charities of newly promoted Premier League sides Ipswich Town and Hull City will deliver structured workshops to address risk factors around offending and mentoring-led interventions alongside their core Premier League Kicks delivery, while Aston Villa Foundation will work with Midlands Police and Violence Reduction Partnership intelligence to deliver innovative virtual reality interventions to address knife crime and improve decision making.
Several club charities across the leagues will work together through consortium approaches:
- In Lancashire, the charities of Blackpool, Blackburn Rovers, Preston North End, Burnley, Morecambe and Wigan Athletic will deliver co-ordinated interventions with the Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner and neighbourhood policing teams.
- To best support young people in London, 11 clubs from across the leagues, including Premier League sides Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur, will work in collaboration with London's Violence Reduction Unit. Through targeted one-to-one mentoring and workshops alongside their core Premier League Kicks delivery, the London clubs - collectively known as London United - will work together to address city-wide issues across the capital and build stronger communities for Londoners.
- In South Yorkshire, Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United, Barnsley, Doncaster Rovers and Rotherham United club charities will come together to address youth violence, anti‑social behaviour and violence against women and girls, with match funding from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and local authorities to support young people in the region.