Support the Oldies Bike Ride for Fighting Knife Crime London.
By Amany Mohamed
Across the United Kingdom, youth initiatives have become essential in providing young people purpose, safety and connection in a time when many feel isolated and overlooked. From football sessions and mentoring schemes to creative workshops, tutoring programmes and community projects, these spaces offer far more than just after-school entertainment. Research from the Department for Education has highlighted that young people with limited access to safe recreational spaces or structured activities are more vulnerable to risk taking behaviour and exploitation.1
They provide structure, role models, and a sense of belonging that many young people struggle to find elsewhere. In areas affected by social inequality or youth violence, such initiatives can be the difference between isolation and opportunity. However, their success depends on how well they respond to local realities such as gender, age, cultural background and accessibility.2 Understanding what makes these spaces effective, and who still gets left out, reveals both the power and the limitations of youth programmes today.
Recent national research has shown that one in five children now display signs of a probable mental health disorder and that young people living in deprived communities experience higher levels of anxiety, stress, and trauma.3 These pressures shape how they behave, how they learn and how they form relationships. Youth programmes can provide safe environments where young people can express themselves, regulate their emotions, and build positive identities.
Youth initiatives as a foundation for belonging
Youth initiatives are often described as the backbone of community engagement for young people. They operate at the intersection of education, leisure and social support, creating environments where young people can grow without the pressures of formal schooling or unstable home lives.
These spaces promote development in multiple ways: socially, by encouraging teamwork and communication; emotionally, by building confidence and self-worth; and intellectually, by offering mentoring and tutoring that fills the gaps left by overstretched schools.4
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport conducted research on youth initiatives and found that between 2011 and 2021, funding for youth provision has declined in real terms from £1058.2 million to £408.5 million5. It is further shown that 95% of local authorities reduced their real terms spending on youth services6. The value of youth clubs and programmes lies not only in the activities themselves but in the relationships they nurture. Youth workers often become consistent figures in young people’s lives, offering advice and guidance that go beyond the specific skill being taught, which therefore creates an open communication link which builds trust with the young person7. This consistency is particularly important in deprived areas, where frequent changes in school staff or youth services can create instability. For many young people, a youth initiative is the only setting where they can feel supported.
Youth clubs provide access to other positive initiatives such as art, programmes and wilderness activities. These programmes often include walking, hiking and practical skills training. These activities help the young person learn new skills and could support their self-esteem, communication and behaviour.8
However, accessibility remains uneven. Funding cuts across the UK have forced many local authorities to close youth centres, and in some areas, only charity or volunteer-led programmes remain9. These tend to rely on short-term grants, meaning that projects can disappear as quickly as they emerge. This instability disrupts trust and engagement, as young people lose faith in systems that promise continuity but fail to deliver it. Long-term investment is therefore essential to make these initiatives sustainable.
Sport as a catalyst for discipline and social change
Sports initiatives remain one of the most visible tools of youth engagement, although their impact depends fundamentally on how they are funded and supported. Programmes such as the Sheffield Wednesday FC Community Programme demonstrate that sport can be used as a form of social intervention, building routine, discipline, belonging and wellbeing.
In a visit to our Community Justice Hub, the inspirational youth and integration worker Paul Hebda emphasised that these outcomes rely on sustained funding and strong partnerships. Sport becomes a safe space only when young people know that staff will be present, sessions will run consistently, and the programme is embedded within trusted local networks.
The image of football as a free or accessible activity hides the reality of how costly it is to run youth sport clubs. Hebda explained that while the club provides symbolic support through match day incentives, recognisable uniforms, and access to facilities, the club itself does not fund community youth work. Instead, the community programme relies on approximately one hundred thousand pounds of Premier League funding each year.
There is little funding left to expand the programme into areas where young people require the most support, such as mental health and specialist mentoring. Despite this limitation, the community trust continues to maintain strong attendance and a visible community presence, which creates stability that many other programmes struggle to offer. Hebda described this as a tight budget in the face of growing community needs. In areas affected by deprivation and youth violence, this budget must cover staffing, venue hire, safeguarding training, transportation, equipment, administration, and delivery.
This financial pressure matters because football on its own does not change lives. Hebda clarified that the most meaningful impact comes from well-funded youth work, particularly from larger programmes like Premier League Kicks. With increased funding, the Sheffield Wednesday programme would be able to employ counsellors, behaviour specialists, youth workers, and health educators. These professionals could deliver targeted support on issues such as trauma, nutrition, low self-esteem, and conflict resolution. According to Hebda, without this holistic provision, sport risks becoming a distraction rather than a prevention strategy. Young people may consistently attend sessions and enjoy playing football yet leave without long term skills, which provide direction and stability.10
Funding also affects inclusion. Football has the potential to build confidence among girls, yet many continue to disengage due to male dominated spaces and lack of representation. Research by Women in Sport found that more than one million girls stop participating in sport by the age of sixteen because of fear of judgement and lack of confidence.11 Hebda confirmed that girls only sessions and female coaches significantly improve participation. These changes require additional staff time, specific training and the use of extra or adapted spaces. In the same way, disabled young people need specialist settings and trained staff to participate fully.
Sport can build discipline, identity and belonging, yet it cannot resolve poverty, trauma, or a lack of opportunities without investment that recognises sport as youth work. When funding supports mental health workers, tutoring and safeguarding specialists alongside football, sport becomes a pathway away from violence and towards opportunity. When funding is limited, sport becomes a temporary escape, unable to compete with the pressures of deprivation or the influence of street culture.
Girls in youth initiatives: participation, barriers and progress.
Girls often experience youth initiatives differently from boys and their engagement is shaped by confidence, safety, and representation and the expectations placed on them inside and outside their communities.12 Although many programmes aim to be inclusive, girls continue to face greater barriers to participation. Research by Women in Sport shows that more than one million girls disengage from sport during adolescence because of fear and judgement, body confidence concerns and the belief that sports that the youth sport spaces are designed for boys.13 These pressures are strengthened in communities where girls have fewer public spaces to gather safely or where social expectations influence how freely they can move outside the home, Many girls in mixed-gender school sport report feeling excluded or judged because school sports remain dominated by masculine norms, which means that females often face “inequalities in obtaining recognition in sport, and discrimination in accessing male-orientated sports”.14 As a result, girls only sessions become an essential part of youth provision because they create this familiar and comfortable environment that allows young women to participate without feeling judged nor watched.
Despite these challenges, we see youth initiatives that invest in girls see positive results. Programmes that employ female coaches, prioritise emotional safety and adapt activities to meet the needs of girls tend to achieve higher engagement and longer retention. However, progress remains uneven. Limited funding means that girls-only sessions are usually unavailable, and many organisations cannot hire trained female staff or secure private spaces that support girls' participation.15
In the following sections, I will explore the issues of inclusion and mental health in more detail.
Mental health and the hidden struggle of young people
Mental health has become one of the most urgent issues affecting young people in the UK and it sits at the heart of why youth initiatives are so essential. Many young people are experiencing heightened levels of anxiety, low moods and emotional instability, often linked to pressures at school, uncertainty at home and wider stresses of their communities. NHS Digital reports that one in five children now present with signs of a probable mental health disorder and its rise has created a growing gap between how young people can regulate their emotions, reconnect with others and experience support from trusted adults.16
Sport based programmes are particularly effective as physical activity naturally reduces stress and creates routine.17 Football sessions at the SWFC Community Trust, provides a safe space where young people can release tension and allow them to feel part of a team.
Loneliness further intensifies the emotional challenges faced by young people. Public Health England has identified chronic loneliness as one of the strongest predictors of risky behaviours and disengagement.18 Sport directly counters this creating social connection and meaningful peer relationships. Mental health support should not be an extra feature of youth initiatives but an essential part of their design. When programmes are well funded and delivered by trained staff, they become protective spaces that help young people manage stress and rebuild their sense of self.
Youth crime cannot be separated from the wider conditions that shape young people’s lives. In communities where funding cuts have closed youth centres, reduced mentoring programmes and limited access to safe recreational spaces, young people are left without the support structures that protect them from isolation and risky environments. The Home Office has identified a clear link between the absence of youth provision and increased vulnerability to serious violence, noting that young people are most at risk when they have nowhere safe to go. Sports initiatives funded consistently and delivered by trained staff, such as those provided by the Sheffield Wednesday Community Foundation, offer a protective alternative. They create supervised environments, meaningful relationships and emotional stability that reduce the likelihood of young people being drawn towards unsafe peer groups. Without sustained investment, these programmes cannot operate at the scale required to prevent harm.
In conclusion, Youth initiatives across the UK reveal that sport is one of the most consistent protective forces in young people’s lives. Football and other community sport programmes create structure, belonging and emotional safety at a time when mental health difficulties are rising sharply among adolescents. For many young people, especially those living in areas affected by instability, these programmes offer the only secure environment where they can regulate their emotions, build confidence and feel connected to others. Yet the benefits are not shared equally. Girls continue to face barriers such as male dominated spaces, lack of representation and limited access to girls only sessions. When funding is insufficient, these barriers widen and girls are pushed to the margins of youth provision, losing out on the same mental health and social advantages that boys receive through consistent participation.
Across all groups, the importance of sustained funding cannot be overstated. When investment is limited, programmes cannot provide safe spaces, trained staff or inclusive environments, and young people lose the stability that keeps them engaged. Research shows that the absence of secure youth provision increases vulnerability and contributes to the conditions in which youth violence, including knife crime, can escalate. When communities invest in sport-based interventions, they invest in emotional resilience, safer neighbourhoods and opportunities for young people to develop identity and purpose. The evidence is clear that sport, when supported properly, transforms lives and protects those most at risk.
A community that funds safe spaces for its young people is a community that chooses hope over harm, and a future that every child deserves to grow into.
Further Reading
[1] Department for Education, Characteristics of Children in Need 2023 (DfE 2023) https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-in-need/2023 accessed 21 November 2025.
[2] Larson, R. W., & Ngo, B. (2017). Introduction to special issue: The importance of culture in youth programs. Journal of Adolescent Research, 32(1), 3-10.
[3] NHS England, ‘One in five children and young people had a probable mental disorder in 2023’ (NHS England, 21 November 2023) https://www.england.nhs.uk/2023/11/one-in-five-children-and-young-people-had-a-probable-mental-disorder-in-2023/ accessed 21 November 2025. (england.nhs.uk)
[4] Brady, B., Silke, C., & Shaw, A. (2022). A rapid review of the benefits and outcomes of universal youth work.
[5] Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Youth provision and life outcomes: a study of the local impact of youth clubs (executive summary) (GOV.UK, 29 February 2024) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/youth-provision-and-life-outcomes-research/youth-provision-and-life-outcomes-a-study-of-the-local-impact-of-youth-clubs-executive-summary accessed 05 November 2025.
[6] Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Youth provision and life outcomes: a study of the local impact of youth clubs (executive summary) (GOV.UK, 29 February 2024) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/youth-provision-and-life-outcomes-research/youth-provision-and-life-outcomes-a-study-of-the-local-impact-of-youth-clubs-executive-summary [accessed 05 November 2005]
[7] Fernandes, S., & Rua, O. L. Innovation in Youth Work. CREATIVITY AND BUSINESS INNOVATION, 89. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Orlando-Lima-Rua/publication/364042308_Creativity_and_Business_Innovation_Volume_III/links/65b7deb31e1ec12eff5fc518/Creativity-and-Business-Innovation-Volume-III.pdf#page=97
[8] Youth Endowment Fund, ‘Adventure and wilderness therapy’. (Youth endowment fund, 2023) https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk/toolkit/adventure-and-wilderness-therapy/ accessed 10 December 2025
[9] https://www.local.gov.uk/publications/must-know-youth-services
[10] Youth Endowment Fund, ‘The Vital Role of Youth Work in Reducing Violence’ (Youth Endowment Fund, 2023) https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk/the-vital-role-of-youth-work-in-reducing-violence-and-supporting-young-people/ accessed 19 November 2025.
[11] Women in Sport, ‘More than one million teenage girls fall out of love with sport’ (Women in Sport, 3 March 2022) https://womeninsport.org/news/more-than-1-million-teenage-girls-fall-out-of-love-with-sport/ accessed 19 November 2025.
[12] Annan, L. G., Gaoua, N., Mileva, K., & Borges, M. (2022). What makes young people get involved with street gangs in London? A study of the perceived risk factors. Journal of community psychology, 50(5), 2198-2213
[13] Women in Sport, ‘More than one million teenage girls fall out of love with sport’ (Women in Sport, 7 March 2022) https://womeninsport.org/news/more-than-1-million-teenage-girls-fall-out-of-love-with-sport/ accessed 10 December 2025
[14] Majella McSharry, ‘“It’s just because we’re girls”: How female students experience and negotiate masculinist school sport’ (2017) 36 Irish Educational Studies 341.
[15] Ljungmann C K, Perceived barriers to sports participation among adolescent girls from low socioeconomic status neighbourhoods (2024) Journal of Sport and Social Issues (advance online publication) https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2023.2286013 accessed 10 December 2025
[16] NHS England, ‘One in five children and young people had a probable mental disorder in 2023’ (NHS England, 21 November 2023) https://www.england.nhs.uk/2023/11/one-in-five-children-and-young-people-had-a-probable-mental-disorder-in-2023/ accessed 10 December 2025.
[17] Q Fu et al, The effects of physical activity on the mental health of children and adolescents (2025) [online] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12016293/ accessed 23 November 2025.
[18] Public Health England, Improving Young People’s Health and Wellbeing (Public Health England 2019)
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-young-peoples-health-and-wellbeing-a-framework-for-public-health accessed 21 November 2025.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Annan LG, Gaoua N, Mileva K and Borges M, ‘What makes young people get involved with street gangs in London? A study of the perceived risk factors’ (2022) 50 Journal of Community Psychology 2198.
Brady B, Silke C and Shaw A, ‘A rapid review of the benefits and outcomes of universal youth work’ (2022).
Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Youth provision and life outcomes: a study of the local impact of youth clubs (executive summary) (GOV.UK, 29 February 2024) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/youth-provision-and-life-outcomes-research/youth-provision-and-life-outcomes-a-study-of-the-local-impact-of-youth-clubs-executive-summary accessed 5 November 2025.
Department for Education, Characteristics of Children in Need 2023 (DfE 2023) https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-in-need/2023 accessed 21 November 2025.
Fernandes S and Rua OL, ‘Innovation in Youth Work’ in Creativity and Business Innovation (Volume III) https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Orlando-Lima-Rua/publication/364042308_Creativity_and_Business_Innovation_Volume_III/links/65b7deb31e1ec12eff5fc518/Creativity-and-Business-Innovation-Volume-III.pdf#page=97 accessed 10 December 2025.
Fu Q and others, ‘The effects of physical activity on the mental health of children and adolescents’ (2025) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12016293/ accessed 23 November 2025.
Ljungmann CK, ‘Perceived barriers to sports participation among adolescent girls from low socioeconomic status neighbourhoods’ (2024) Journal of Sport and Social Issues (advance online publication) https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2023.2286013 accessed 10 December 2025.
Local Government Association, Must Know: Youth Services https://www.local.gov.uk/publications/must-know-youth-services accessed 10 December 2025.
McSharry M, ‘“It is just because we are girls”: How female students experience and negotiate masculinist school sport’ (2017) 36 Irish Educational Studies 341.
NHS England, ‘One in five children and young people had a probable mental disorder in 2023’ (NHS England, 21 November 2023) https://www.england.nhs.uk/2023/11/one-in-five-children-and-young-people-had-a-probable-mental-disorder-in-2023/ accessed 10 December 2025.
Public Health England, Improving Young People’s Health and Wellbeing (Public Health England 2019) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-young-peoples-health-and-wellbeing-a-framework-for-public-health accessed 21 November 2025.
Youth Endowment Fund, ‘Adventure and wilderness therapy’ (Youth Endowment Fund, 2023) https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk/toolkit/adventure-and-wilderness-therapy/ accessed 10 December 2025.
Youth Endowment Fund, ‘The Vital Role of Youth Work in Reducing Violence’ (Youth Endowment Fund, 2023) https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk/the-vital-role-of-youth-work-in-reducing-violence-and-supporting-young-people/accessed 19 November 2025.
Women in Sport, ‘More than one million teenage girls fall out of love with sport’ (Women in Sport, 3 March 2022) https://womeninsport.org/news/more-than-1-million-teenage-girls-fall-out-of-love-with-sport/ accessed 19 November 2025.
