Organisations helping young people build better futures through education, employment, training and sport can qualify for grants of up to £10,000 after Football For Change announced its first round of 2024 funding.
Football For Change was launched in 2021 by football superstars Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jamie Carragher and Conor Coady. The initiative was swiftly backed by . Real Madrid megastar Jude Bellingham as well as football names including Gary Neville, Domininc Calvert-Lewin, Peter Crouch and Lioness Beth Mead.
Peter Crouch, Beth Mead and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. David Beckham, Lionel Messi, Dua Lipa and others have also helped raise funds.
Football For Change brings together sports stars and business leaders to help NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) young people who have grown up in poverty find education and employment opportunities, as well as helping others from underprivileged communities achieve their full potential. The organisation also supports young people who might have been affected by crime to help them turn their lives around.
The social mobility initiative has raised over £1.1million since its formation and released over £150,000 in grants to organisations and charities across the country in 2023, including the Liverpool FC Foundation, Everton in the Community and Dame Kelly Holmes Trust.
Football For Change has also sent over 100 disadvantaged young people to the United States for a month-long sports and education retreats and helped finance the building of an education hub in Bootle, Liverpool.
Football For Change has supported young people into jobs by partnering with Local Solutions and placed homeless youngsters back into work and accommodation in Glasgow, working alongside music legend Sir Rod Stewart, who is patron of the initiative.
In 2024 the Football For Change fund, managed by the Communities Foundation for Lancashire and Merseyside, is encouraging young people, charities, organisations and community projects who support young people to apply for grants.
Funding will primarily focus on projects that provide life-changing opportunities in education, employment and sport, working with young people who have experienced poverty and economic challenges.
Co-chair of Football For Change, Jamie Carragher, said:
“Football For Change is once again investing in young people who have experienced a difficult start in life.
“Last year we helped more than 20 charitable projects with grants, and the projects they delivered have been life changing.
“This funding offers organisations the opportunity to hand young people the tools that will enable them to build a better future for themselves and those around them through education, employment, training and sport.
“Football For Change has made a huge difference across the country over the last 12 months and I am excited to see how much this next round of funding helps reach even more people and change even more lives.”
Leicester CIty star and England defender, Conor Coady, added:
“Football For Change is needed more than ever. This vital funding offers access to life-changing opportunities to young people facing challenges to get on in life.
“I’d encourage everyone to apply, and I can’t wait to see the projects we’ll be funding to help young people reach their potential and build better futures.”