Football Helps People to Score Wellbeing and Employment Goals
- Wednesday, June 12, 2024
- Euro 2024 kicks-off today, with countless fans and fellow travellers expected to watch Europe’s finest players vie for glory in stadia across Germany.
- But football isn’t just an elite sport or international entertainment spectacle. It’s a game that can unite individuals and communities all over the world – and, incidentally, a great way for employment, justice, and health support programmes to help people achieve their goals.
- To this end, several programmes delivered by the Growth Company use football to enhance people’s skills, improve their health, and boost their confidence.
On Friday evening, the Bavarian city of Munich will host the first game of Euro 2024, with home side Germany taking on Scotland.
Over the next month, 24 European national teams, from Albania to Ukraine, will face off against one another to determine who is the best on the continent, while millions watch them, as eager as the players and coaches to find out.
The tournament slogan – “united by football” – is an apt summary of the game’s power to inspire, excite, and bring people together across every imaginable divide.
So, to mark the occasion, and join in the festivities, we’ve picked three examples of football being used to help people boost their skills, improve their wellbeing, and regain their confidence.
Kick The Stigma Uses Football to Help People on Probation
The Growth Company's ‘Kick The Stigma’ programme aims to create positive outcomes for people on probation. It does so by enrolling them on a two-month course jointly run by local football clubs and their community foundations. Sessions have taken place at Everton, Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United, Doncaster Rovers, and Rotherham United, and have been found to improve many participants’ mental and physical health.
Twinning Project Uses Football to Score Wellbeing Goals
The Growth Company (GC) has teamed up with HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), Sheffield United Community Foundation, and Sheffield Wednesday FC Community Programme to deliver a new justice initiative – and it is already producing results. The Twinning Project matches prisons in England and Wales with nearby professional football clubs. Its goal is to reduce reoffending by improving the mental and physical health of people in prison through a football-based skills course.
IPES Helps Tom Land His Dream Job in Football
Intensive Personalised Employment Support (IPES) helps people with complex needs find and stay in employment. Advisers provide one-to-one support, liaising with employers to find suitable roles for participants. Recently, IPES helped Tom secure a job with his boyhood football team, Fleetwood Town.
The Growth Company
The Growth Company is an award-winning social enterprise with a mission to generate growth, create jobs, and improve lives.
We help people and businesses across the UK to develop, grow and succeed through a range of employment, skills and business support services. We provide employment, justice, and health services across Greater Manchester, the Liverpool City Region, Lancashire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire and Humber.
Contact us today to find out more.
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