Premier League Charitable Fund Highlights 2024 - part two

We return with a look at the second half of 2024.

You can read our round up from the first half of the year here.

July

Continuing the run of football tournaments for primary school children, July was the culmination of the Premier League Primary Stars Football Festivals. Thirty-eight festivals were delivered in partnership with the English Schools' Football Association , creating opportunities for more than 6,000 children from more than 350 schools to have their first experience of representing their school through football.

Also in July we headed to the home of English football for a two-day Premier League Kicks Cup staged at St. George's Park . Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur claimed victory in the mixed and girls’ events respectively.

The Premier League Kicks Cup Under-16 tournaments are a celebration of how Premier League Kicks connects young people with football, providing positive opportunities to help them to reach their potential.

This season’s Premier League Kicks Cup finals were also designed to promote gender equality and support players to have a more positive impact in their local communities. Participants had the opportunity to take part in a range of additional activities, including hearing from inspirational guest speakers and gender equality workshops designed to challenge gender norms to inform their attitudes and behaviour both on and off the pitch.

And, as part of Nike Football 's global commitment to expanding girls’ access to sport, all participants in the girls’ tournament left the event with a Nike Sports bra, helping to break down barriers to participation and ensure that no participant stops playing football because they don’t have access to the right apparel.

In June, we also recognised more of the initiatives made possible thanks to the Premier League and PFA Community Fund at our annual conference held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Premier League and Professional Footballers' Association Community Fund supports clubs to develop partnerships to tackle inequality and respond to local challenges.

August

In August, Premier League action returned on the pitch and we had the launch of the latest Premier League Inspires Challenge. Now in its fifth consecutive year, the challenge will support young people aged 11-18 to take on a social action project to explore gender equality at their clubs and in their local communities.

We also reached a milestone 100 Premier League Fans Fund projects. The Premier League Fans Fund provides grants to support football clubs at all levels of the game to strengthen connections between them, their fans and local communities.

The fund supports a range of fan-focused and fan-led projects, helping to foster a sense of belonging through meaningful engagement. This includes schemes for underrepresented groups to further develop an inclusive and welcoming matchday experience.

And, as children across the country returned to school, Premier League Primary Stars launched Footy Phonics.

The free phonics resource, available to every primary school across England and Wales, offers simple, football-related activities to support five-to-seven-year-olds on the vital first step in learning to read.

September

In addition to grant funding, we support professional football club charities with direction and thought leadership, monitoring and oversight, and provide learning, guidance and networking opportunities to enable club charities to become strong, sustainable organisations.

Throughout the year, we delivered an extensive programme of learning opportunities and conferences for our network. From mental health first aid to safeguarding children, coaching and leadership to bid writing and presentation skills more than 1,500 delegates have been supported through our expert workshops, masterclasses and peer-to-peer sessions.

Our inaugural Premier League Primary Stars coach development days took place in September, designed to support coaches from more than 100 club charities. They were followed throughout the autumn by Premier League Primary Stars, Premier League Kicks and Premier League Inspires conferences for programme leads.

October

To mark World Mental Health Day in October, the Premier League Charitable Fund sat down with Brentford defender Ben Mee to understand how being a mental health ambassador helped him in tough times.

Did you go to Premier League Kicks? If so, October’s Premier League Kicks alumni series might be of interest to you. Celebrating some of the amazing people who have been a part of the Premier League’s longest-running community programme, the series will run to February 2025.

One of the people the series has recognised is Max. Like so many in his position, Reading FC Community Trust ’s Premier League Kicks co-ordinator Max Scott is not simply a coach on the pitch.

A former Premier League Kicks participant, Max is now a role model, a mentor, and an inspirational example of how Premier League Kicks can help change the course of someone's life.

And if you went to Premier League Kicks why not complete our short alumni survey too?

November

In November, we announced the formation of a new partnership with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and 43 police forces, which is designed to use the power of football to help reduce anti-social behaviour and foster meaningful change in areas across England and Wales.

November was also the month we relaunched the Premier League Primary Stars website. Designed by teachers, for teachers, the new and improved site means that teachers across England and Wales can now find any of our 650+ PE, PSHE, English or maths resources quickly and simply.

While the primary audience will always be teachers in primary school settings, the new site also allows for more sharing of resources across our network of more than 100 club charities too and offers tailored recommendations based on previous engagement as well as space to celebrate the work of our club charities, teachers, schools and pupils. ?

If you know any teachers, let them know that it’s quick, free and easy to register ?? Premier League Primary Stars | Register and they can join our network of 70,000+ teachers who are already using Premier League Primary Stars in their schools.

And to mark November’s Anti-Bullying Week, Premier League Primary Stars teamed up with the Anti-Bullying Alliance to produce a set of new resources to help equip teachers with tools to effectively address bullying. The free curriculum-linked Premier League Primary Stars resources, titled 'Choose Respect', are designed for children aged 7-11 and tap into this year's Anti-Bullying Week theme of respect for all, regardless of gender, race, or ability, and applying it in real-life situations.

December

As the end of term drew near, authors Emma Juhasz and Dan Freedman joined schoolchildren in classrooms across England and Wales to talk about careers in football as part of the Premier League Primary Stars virtual club author days. We sat down with Dan Freedman to understand why being involved with Premier League Primary Stars means so much to him.

And December also marked the latest Premier League Christmas Truce tournament.

Thirty-two girls from across England and Wales had the opportunity of a lifetime as they headed to Belgium to take part in the Under-18 girls' Premier League Kicks Truce Tournament.

Held in the historic town of Ypres, the tournament's focus was the Christmas Day Truce of 1914, where amid the horrors of the First World War, soldiers on opposing sides reportedly laid down their weapons on 25 December to play football and exchange gifts.

Here, the girls had the privilege of playing at an event also featuring Under-12 Academy boys’ teams which focused on allyship and respect.

During the three-day event, as well as competing on the pitch, participants took part in educational and cultural activities, to learn about the sacrifices made by servicemen and women in the First World War. This included an evening ceremony at the Menin Gate to commemorate the fallen and an immersive experience of the trench conditions suffered by the soldiers.

The Premier League Charitable Fund exists to positively impact the lives of people of all ages, particularly those facing inequalities. Every day, our network of professional football club charities across the Premier League, English Football League and National League deliver life-changing programmes to support people of all ages and from all backgrounds who make their communities special places to live. ?

You can read about the difference they are making through the words of almost 100 participants and beneficiaries who have shared their stories with us. From Chelsea’s Premier League Primary Stars participant, Ruby, to former Aston Villa Premier League Kicks participant turned police officer, Zak, find out about the impact the Premier League and professional football club charities are having on the lives of people in communities up and down England and Wales.

If those stories pique your interest, head to our website to find the links to all 106 club charities we support. On their own sites, you’ll find even more examples of sport as a vehicle for social change.

We believe in the ability of football to drive positive change in local communities. As we move into 2025, we will continue to invest in programmes and activities where everyone feels valued, respected and welcome.

Together with our partners, funders, and the club charities we support, we can continue to make a difference to people of all ages and use the power of football as a force for good in communities across England and Wales.

Finally, thank you to everyone who has been part of our charity this year. Our funders, The Premier League and Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) , our workforce and, most importantly, everyone who has taken part in activities in their local community.

Here’s to another exciting 12 months.