Launched by Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Coady and Jamie Carragher in 2021, Football For Change brings together football stars and business leaders with a collective goal to change the lives of young people living in the most deprived communities in the UK.
It is supported by some of the biggest names in world football including Jude Bellingham, Steven Gerrard, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Gary Neville, Gary Lineker and Lucas Moura.
Business leaders including Ardonagh Retail CEO Ian Donaldson and public relations executive Dan Hughes played leading roles in establishing the social mobility initiative, which is funding life-changing projects in education, employment and sport for school leavers.
Sir Rod Stewart became the official Football For Change patron in 2022.
HOW YOUR SUPPORT HELPS YOUNG PEOPLE IN CHALLENGED UK COMMUNITIES
Football For Change is investing into young people who face social and economic barriers when trying to reach their full potential. These are young people who’ve faced poverty and those who have experienced tough starts in life. We’re aiming to give them a platform to build better futures.
Our work is focused on school leavers who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) in neighbourhoods affected by low educational attainment and high levels of youth unemployment. Meanwhile, our amazing team of football superstars and business leaders, many of whom have succeeded in the face of adversity, are at the forefront of our work as role models to drive social mobility and encourage young people to aim higher.
Football For Change work is already making a difference and is needed now more than ever due to the growing numbers of young people in the UK who have seen any chance of a better life further torn from their grasp due to the effects of Covid-19 and record numbers growing up in poverty.
Football For Change is about helping young people onto a positive path. It is footballers and business leaders coming together with a goal to help improve the life chances and opportunities of young people from some of the most challenged neighbourhoods in the country. It is a brilliant initiative and I know from growing up in Liverpool that it is needed now more than ever.
TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD
Football For Change is a brilliant initiative which will hopefully inspire young people in some of the most challenged communities in the UK to aim higher. The commitment of football stars involved is admirable. They are using their powerful platforms as sports role models to make a difference by giving young people a hand up towards a better future.
SADIQ KHAN, MAYOR OF LONDON