[Sports] Youngsters to take up football, boxing and rugby in £5 million bid to cut crime

[Douma]

We believe every young person should get the best start in life. Doing sport is a brilliant way of building focus and discipline while also improving physical health and stopping people becoming involved in crime.

This funding will help make sure people are set on the right path from the outset.

The Sports Fund has been co-ordinated by StreetGames and the Alliance of Sport for Criminal Justice, with the support of the Sport for Development Coalition – an umbrella of more than 250 charities in the sports sector.

Stuart Felce, StreetGames Director of Sport and Community Safety, said:

At StreetGames we believe that community sport, delivered in the right way, can have a transformational impact on children’s lives and the communities they live in. We’re really excited to be partnering with the Sport for Development Coalition and the Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice to deliver this ambitious new programme from the Ministry of Justice. This investment in sport will support voluntary and community sports organisations to carry out targeted work to enhance positive outcomes for vulnerable children, providing the practical and emotional support they need to grow and helping to keep them and their communities safe.

Hitesh Patel, Executive Director of the Coalition, added:

Reducing crime and anti-social behaviour is a core element of the Coalition’s #OpenGoal framework, which shows how the multiple returns on investment created by sport for development can help to generate significant public cost savings. We are delighted to be working alongside StreetGames and the Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice to ensure this new funding supports and strengthens those organisations that can already demonstrate the positive social impact they are having on their local communities.

The funding also delivers on the commitment made in the Prisons Strategy White Paper – published in December 2022 – to cut youth crime and create safer streets.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/youngsters-to-take-up-football-boxing-and-rugby-in-5-million-bid-to-cut-crime