Ahead of our FA Cup third round fixture with Manchester United on Sunday, January 12, Arsenal in the Community welcomed young people and staff from the Manchester United Foundation to The Arsenal Hub for an event as part of our No More Red campaign.
The No More Red campaign, first launched in 2022, is a joint initiative between adidas and Arsenal to support and build on 40 years of Arsenal in the Community’s work to help keep young people safe from knife crime and youth violence.
Through funding from the Premier League Charitable Fund, both Arsenal and Manchester United have delivered the PL Kicks programme for over 15 years. The goal is to engage young people aged eight to 18 in free football activities outside of school hours, through which staff aim to build trusting relationships with the participants and support them in their personal development. This helps us play a role in building stronger, safer communities.
Arsenal in the Community engages more than 1,600 young people per year in the programme, which they deliver on local estates and parks in Islington, Hackney, and Camden.
Before watching the game, participants from both clubs’ programmes met at the Hub to play a match on our indoor pitch and attend a workshop with Virtual Decisions, a technology company that creates immersive VR experiences for young people. These allow participants to control real-life scenarios and navigate consequences in a safe simulation.
Seeing the consequences of difficult decisions play out in a trauma-informed virtual environment empowers young people to make the right choices when it counts in the real world, saving lives and reducing risk and improving outcomes for everyone involved.
The partnership between the clubs' community programmes is extremely important in supporting young people across the country. Arsenal in the Community were also proud to award Manchester United Foundation volunteer Kieran Pritchard and their Chief Executive Officer John Shiels a No More Red white jersey at half time in recognition of their work supporting young people in Manchester.
Other activities during the game included the Islington Parent Empowerment Champions being presented with a white shirt before kick-off in recognition of their work in the community and for hosting an event with us at The Arsenal Hub in early December, which engaged 30 children and their parents in workshops. Additionally, ten participants from various community programmes served as player mascots by walking out with the players before the game.
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