Premier League announces new ambition to support 250,000 young people at risk of becoming NEET

The Premier League has today announced a new commitment in its continued work with young people at risk of becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training).

Building on longstanding community programmes across England and Wales, the League’s ambition is to support more than 250,000 at-risk children and teenagers over the next five years. This will be underpinned by long-term investment enabling an expansion of League and professional football club charity work nationwide.

League-funded programmes delivered by more than 100 club charities help schools and other local organisations to identify young people in need of support, providing them with tailored activity to develop essential skills for their future.

The ambition builds on more than 25 years of Premier League investment in communities and is supported by the Rt Hon Alan Milburn, whose forthcoming review examines the rising number of 16-24-year-olds who are NEET.

Estimates put the cumulative cost to the United Kingdom of almost one million NEET young people at £125 billion a year.

Premier League Chief Policy and Social Impact Officer Clare Sumner said: "Football clubs can reach people in communities who may otherwise miss out on support. Through a nationwide network of club charities, the Premier League uses the appeal of football to build relationships, develop skills and help engagement with school and other opportunities.

“With one in eight young people in the UK not in education, employment or training, we are committed to playing our part in addressing the challenge highlighted by Alan Milburn’s Young People and Work Review.

“Our funding will enable professional club charities to increase their work with schools and other local partners, providing trusted relationships, mentoring and activities to give young people a stronger start in adult life.”

In his recent interim report on young people and work, Milburn warned that Britain risks a “lost generation” of up to 250,000 more 16-24-year-olds becoming NEET over the next five years without urgent action.

Milburn identified multiple risk factors that can lead to disengagement from education and employment, including low school attendance and attainment.

One of the national programmes funded by the League is Premier League Inspires, which supports 11-18-year-olds to reach their potential across 1,000 schools and alternative education providers. A recent study by Sheffield Hallam University highlighted the programme’s significant impact on pupil behaviour, with 96% of schools agreeing participation increases engagement, and 80% agreeing it reduces absenteeism.

Commenting on the Premier League’s announcement, Alan Milburn, Chair of the Young People and Work Review, said: “Nearly a million young people are locked out of work, training or education and every day that passes without action makes it harder to get them back. Fixing that isn’t a job for government alone. It takes employers, educators and local communities to step up and show up.

“Football clubs do exactly that. They reach young people other services never see, in places young people already believe in.

“This investment from the Premier League will make a real difference. It will support tens of thousands of young people who are at risk of ending up NEET and give them some hope for the future.”

The Premier League’s increased support for young people was announced during an event at Newcastle United’s St. James’ Park. There, Milburn chaired a roundtable discussion with local business and education leaders, football clubs and charities in seeking to address the issue of youth disengagement from education and employment.

Newcastle United Foundation participants on Premier League Inspires were also involved. They met representatives to share their first-hand experience and took part in a mock press conference, putting their questions to Milburn and senior representatives from the football industry.

Newcastle United Foundation Managing Director Andrew Foster said: "The scale of this challenge needs a joined-up response and football has a unique ability to reach young people and connect them with truly transformational opportunities to shape their future.

“Newcastle United Foundation supports thousands of pre and NEET young people through education, mentoring, workplace experiences and personal development programmes. We share the Premier League’s ambition to scale this work and empowering learners is a key pillar of our three-year strategy.

“We know and understand what is possible through consistent engagement through Premier League Inspires and Premier League Kicks programmes and the Premier League’s commitment builds on that momentum, enabling football club charities across the country to support even more young people who are at risk of being left behind."

The League’s new ambition builds on its partnership with Government on the Youth Guarantee initiative, which aims to help young people into education or employment. This includes providing pathways into training and employment through employability projects, and an aim to develop Youth Hubs across all 20 Premier League clubs.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: “As one of our first Youth Guarantee partners, the Premier League has led the way in supporting young people with Youth Hubs already open in many clubs and today’s announcement set to unlock opportunities for thousands.

“To turn the tide on youth unemployment we must meet young people where they are and this initiative shows exactly what that looks like in practice.”

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