Football project launches at Wolves to 'end youth homelessness'

A project is launching in Wolverhampton to try and get vulnerable young people off the streets, by teaching them how to play football.

The Street Soccer Foundation launched back in 2015 for people aged between 16-25 across the UK.

Now, they've teamed up with Wolves, where the club and charity will deliver the Academy course at Molineux.

It'll take young people from across the city off the streets and provide them access to a fusion of professional football training, positive mindset coaching and employability-driven workshops.

Jonathan Warburton, Education & Skills Manager at Wolves, said:

‘’This is a fantastic opportunity to offer young people from Wolverhampton with a chance to engage with the football club’’.

’We understand the many challenges faced with being homeless in the city and hope that with our exciting new partnership with The Street Soccer Foundation that we are able to help support and improve the life chances of our city’s youth’."

Keith Mabbutt, CEO of The Street Soccer Foundation, which already works with a number of Premier League partners including Liverpool and West Ham Utd, added:

“We’re excited to be part of the Wolves community, and support and enhance the already fantastic work which the Club and its Foundation do to help the city’s most vulnerable.

“We hope to raise awareness of the issue of youth homelessness in the region, and working with Wolves, we can provide a nurturing, inspiring and educational environment for young people.

“Our Academy program provides the skills needed to carve out a career and lifestyle that not only equips young individuals with hope and positivity for the future, but enables them to envisage a career path which they may not have known was possible.”

The Street Soccer Foundation will look to launch its Academy with Wolves on the day of the Clubs’ first ever Sleepout event at Molineux on 15th November 2019.

The event will welcome fans, local businesses and all staff to sleepout on the pitch overnight to raise vital funds for those that are vulnerably housed or already homeless in the city.

Mabbutt continued:

“Fundamentally, the collective ambition is to help to tackle homelessness issues in Wolverhampton and to give these young people a better chance to turn their life around and achieve their aspirations."

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