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Sky News
16-02-2025
- Sport
- Sky News
Idris Elba on the power of football - and how it can help tackle knife crime
Idris Elba hopes providing more access to football in communities will deter youngsters from knife crime and he urged other industries to follow the Premier League's lead. The actor dropped in on a session run by the West Ham Foundation - part of the league's Kicks programme supporting youngsters at risk of anti-social behaviour and youth violence by providing free weekly football. While it could offer pathways in the sport - including coaching the next generation - Elba sees how it provides the toolset for personal development in life more broadly. "Football has an amazing aggregated power," Elba told Sky News. "I think that is a really good sort of example for other industries to think about mentorship programmes. "Apprenticeship programmes that can just give young people (opportunities) because not every kid wants to play football. "But at least we're seeing the Premier League do something. The big tech companies, motor industry companies should say, 'Hey, what can we do with the young people? What are their interests?'" The Premier League has invested more than £90m in the Kicks programme across two decades with a particular focus on reducing violent behaviour. The need for such a scheme was reinforced by the fatal stabbings of 10 teenagers in London last year being followed by a 14-year-old's killing in the first week of 2025. It is a year since Elba launched his own campaign, Don't Stop Your Future, to call for greater urgency in addressing the knife crime crisis. "Where there are young people aggregating around football, around teams, should we be messaging that knife crime is no good? Absolutely. Yes," Elba said. "We should be messaging that wherever you can. "Just listen to a young person once. If you've never asked them what their feelings are about knife crime, about what they want to do with their lives, do it. That's one thing… The answer is up to you, but ultimately, you're beginning the conversation." 1:25 It was a conversation Elba had earlier this week in Dagenham with young players and coaches alongside a roundtable with community leaders impacted by knife crime. "I absolutely feel that the more we talk, we can do about this, the better," Elba said. "Are there mechanisms where football can play a part in a larger scale? Absolutely. Let's hope that we can all put our thinking caps on." That is working - as the Premier League does - with police to confront the knife crime epidemic. "It feels probably to many that not enough is being done," Met Police Commander Stephen Clayman, the national policing lead for knife crime, told Sky News pitchside at the Kicks programme. "But actually, you see things like this. You only need to change the direction of a number of people. You've already made a huge difference. "What you need is more of this, more investment in youth services, in these types of things, and then you start making the difference." But can football really make communities safer by providing access to football? Or is it for authorities to search for more impactful interventions - by increasing the number of officers on the beat? "Having more cops can make a difference in some areas for enforcement, but it's not just about enforcement," Commander Clayman said. " You're only going to really tackle this if you get to the root cause of why someone feels they have to pick up a knife in the first place. "That's not going to be the police solving that. That's going to be people with some of the sort of coaches and mentors here that will do that and all the other services around. That's what will make the real difference over time. It's never going to be a quick fix." 2:55 But football is trying to help in any way it can to prevent the tragedies that trouble West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen. "Things like this really help people get off the streets and really do something with their life and make a real powerful change - I think it's such a really important thing," he said in an interview. "It teaches them good habits and it teaches them a lot of different things as well. They spoke about the mental side of football and the technical side also. "I think it also teaches about social skills. You have to play as a team, people making friendships here as well. So, I think it's a really powerful positive thing."
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Idris Elba on the power of football - and how it can help tackle knife crime
Idris Elba hopes providing more access to football in communities will deter youngsters from knife crime and he urged other industries to follow the Premier League's lead. The actor dropped in on a session run by the West Ham Foundation - part of the league's Kicks programme supporting youngsters at risk of anti-social behaviour and youth violence by providing free weekly football. While it could offer pathways in the sport - including coaching the next generation - Elba sees how it provides the toolset for personal development in life more broadly. "Football has an amazing aggregated power," told Sky News. "I think that is a really good sort of example for other industries to think about mentorship programmes. "Apprenticeship programmes that can just give young people (opportunities) because not every kid wants to play football. "But at least we're seeing the Premier League do something. The big tech companies, motor industry companies should say, 'Hey, what can we do with the young people? What are their interests?'" Read more: The Premier League has invested more than £90m in the Kicks programme across two decades with a particular focus on reducing violent behaviour. The need for such a scheme was reinforced by the of 10 teenagers in London last year being followed by a 14-year-old's killing in the first week of 2025. It is a year since Elba launched his own campaign, , to call for greater urgency in addressing the knife crime crisis. "Where there are young people aggregating around football, around teams, should we be messaging that knife crime is no good? Absolutely. Yes," Elba said. "We should be messaging that wherever you can. "Just listen to a young person once. If you've never asked them what their feelings are about knife crime, about what they want to do with their lives, do it. That's one thing… The answer is up to you, but ultimately, you're beginning the conversation." It was a conversation Elba had earlier this week in Dagenham with young players and coaches alongside a roundtable with community leaders impacted by knife crime. "I absolutely feel that the more we talk, we can do about this, the better," Elba said. "Are there mechanisms where football can play a part in a larger scale? Absolutely. Let's hope that we can all put our thinking caps on." That is working - as the Premier League does - with police to confront the knife crime epidemic. "It feels probably to many that not enough is being done," Met Police Commander Stephen Clayman, the national policing lead for knife crime, told Sky News pitchside at the Kicks programme. "But actually, you see things like this. You only need to change the direction of a number of people. You've already made a huge difference. "What you need is more of this, more investment in youth services, in these types of things, and then you start making the difference." But can football really make communities safer by providing access to football? Or is it for authorities to search for more impactful interventions - by increasing the number of officers on the beat? Read more:One in five teachers 'have seen students with knives' "Having more cops can make a difference in some areas for enforcement, but it's not just about enforcement," Commander Clayman said. "You're only going to really tackle this if you get to the root cause of why someone feels they have to pick up a knife in the first place. "That's not going to be the police solving that. That's going to be people with some of the sort of coaches and mentors here that will do that and all the other services around. That's what will make the real difference over time. It's never going to be a quick fix." But football is trying to help in any way it can to prevent the tragedies that trouble West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen. "Things like this really help people get off the streets and really do something with their life and make a real powerful change - I think it's such a really important thing," he said in an interview. "It teaches them good habits and it teaches them a lot of different things as well. They spoke about the mental side of football and the technical side also. "I think it also teaches about social skills. You have to play as a team, people making friendships here as well. So, I think it's a really powerful positive thing."
The Guardian
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘We're in a crisis': Idris Elba calls for more action on youth violence in UK
Idris Elba has highlighted the trauma faced by those at risk of youth violence, including knife crime, at a meeting with police and community figures, adding that he was confident the government would 'pay attention' to the issue. The actor and campaigner has been a vocal supporter of tackling knife crime and youth violence, and recently fronted a documentary on the issue. At a roundtable discussion on Monday evening with regional community figures and the national lead for knife crime in Dagenham, east London, he called for 'joined-up thinking' on the issue. He said: 'I describe myself as someone who's got a soapbox. I'm a parent, that's it. I'm no expert on youth crime, but I do know that we're in a crisis and that we've got to stand up and do something and there has to be joined-up thinking.' Elba's appearance at the event was to support the Premier League Kicks programme, which provides free, weekly football sessions across the country for young people at risk of antisocial behaviour, including youth violence. After meeting teenagers and coaches from the West Ham Foundation, which runs the local sessions in Dagenham, Elba joined community leaders from across the country involved in the programme, some of whom have been affected by knife crime or serious youth violence, to discuss the issue. In the course of the discussion, the topic of trauma arose, particularly how it was a common experience among those involved in, or affected by, youth violence. Elba said he had asked some of the teenagers whether the sessions helped young people 'stay away from knife crime and violence'. They told him they did. 'There was a massive real impact of it and that sense of belonging was important in the understanding about trauma, dialogue and understanding. You never know what any of these kids are going through at home, what their environment is. But here feels like family.' Last month, Elba fronted a documentary highlighting the issue of knife crime in the UK. Before its release, he called for kitchen knives to be sold only with rounded ends, and, last year, he urged the government to ban the sale of machetes and 'zombie' knives. Elba told the Guardian he had decided to host the documentary because he did not understand the issue 'as much as I needed to'. He said: 'It's one thing saying: we've got to stop knife crimes, we've got to ban knives, but understanding why was really important to be effective in messaging.' Last September, Elba participated in a summit on knife crime. He was joined by the prime minister, Keir Starmer; the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, and those who had lost loved ones to knife crime. Elba said he was confident that the government would 'pay attention' to the issue. 'I'm hoping that the recent awareness that we've seen happen is enough of a driver to push them to do change. Needless to say, no – one wants to see any more needless or senseless deaths,' he said. Stephen Clayman, the national lead for knife crime for the National Police Chiefs' Council, said that grassroots initiatives such as the Premier League scheme could 'make the biggest difference'. 'We've got to think about what young people would be attracted to,' he said. 'Anything that could get attention of someone who is distracted by other things in their lives, gives them a route in and helps them make better life choices.' He said such programmes needed investment to continue running. 'Whether that's government investment or private investment from other industries, it is fundamental that we don't give up because this is where you make the biggest difference,' he said.
