Jimmy (child’s name changed due to privacy reasons) was supported by Youth Services and Jamie Horrocks Trust after being identified as being at risk of becoming involved in anti-social behaviour and of exploitation / county lines. Jimmy reported low confidence and self-esteem, with football previously being his main passion and a positive focus in his life. Over the previous six months, he had stopped playing football, left his team and spent increasing amounts of time in the community with older peers.

During this period, Jimmy begun making poor life choices. His withdrawal from sports was also a withdrawal from a protective routine, healthy friendships and a legitimate, positive way to spend his time.

Through LFC Foundation Premier League Kicks at Anfield Sports and Community Centre, youth workers were able to reconnect Jimmy with a sport he once loved. He engaged quickly, attending sessions and beginning to rebuild the confidence that had been lost and acting as a circuit breaker for his illegitimate time in the community. His engagement was then extended to Monday evening Premier League Kicks at Central Youth Club.

These sessions gave youth workers an opportunity to build a relationship with Jimmy and use football as a practical route into discussions about confidence, decision-making, peer influence and keeping himself safe.

The progression then extended beyond two sessions a week, whereby Jimmy began attending Central Youth Club three to four times each week, taking part in more football sessions and then broadening into other sports and activities. He met peers his own age and began choosing to spend more time with them.

Jimmy has re-established football as a central, positive part of his routine. He now reports that he has stopped vaping and smoking, so that he can focus on fitness and sport, and is spending less time in the community with older individuals and more time with peers of his own age, including friends he met through Premier League Kicks and Central Youth Club.

At home, his parents report that he is happier and that his spare time looks different, less risky and more positive. Jimmy is behaving like a child again. The progress has shown a shift in his activity levels, as well as his relationships, choices and sense of what a positive future can look like.

Jimmy was recently offered an incredible ‘play on the pitch’ experience at Anfield Stadium, as a reward for his positive and consistent engagement in the sessions. Having been a life-long fan of LFC, Jimmy had never had the opportunity to set foot in the stadium, let alone play his favourite sport on the pitch. The once in a lifetime experience, made possible by LFC Foundation Premier Kicks, allowed youth workers to show Jimmy the positive alternatives to the street and proving the opportunities open to him if he continues to engage.

Premier League Kicks uses the power of football and sport to inspire young people to reach their potential. The programme creates opportunities for young people who are at risk of anti-social behaviour, youth violence and/or from high-need areas to regularly engage in football, sport, mentoring and personal development opportunities.

Jimmy’s journey shows how football can provide a credible route away from risk for a young person who is becoming disconnected from positive routines. LFC Foundation’s Premier League Kicks gave him somewhere purposeful to go, people his own age to connect with and a reason to rebuild his physical health and confidence. It also provided a vehicle for Youth Workers to deliver vital youth work and informal education.

The LFC Foundation works to tackle social inequalities through sport, physical activity, youth intervention and health and wellbeing. Here, football was an engagement tool that supported safer choices, positive peer relationships, stronger wellbeing and a renewed sense of belonging in the local community.