Friendly football match works to improve engagement between young people and police

A friendly football match took place this week (September 5) and saw young people from Northampton take on a team of police officers.

The match was organised by Northampton Town Football Club Community Trust and Premier League Kicks in partnership with the Force and West Northamptonshire Council.

Young people aged 14 to 16, from the Blackthorn area in Northampton took part in the game against police officers from across the Force including those from response and neighbourhoods.

A number of games took place with the officers and the young people showed positive attitudes, teamwork and were able to show off their football skills with plenty of goals scored. 

The match formed part of Northamptonshire Police’s week of action against serious violence which has so far focused on preventative work as well as enforcement operations.

Chief Inspector Nathan Murray who is leading this week of action, said: “Sport is something that has the power to bring people together from all across the world.

“No matter what your background is, what you do for a job, or where you’re from, once you get onto a football pitch - everyone gets into the same zone in order to work together and get the best result possible.

“We know that there is often a disconnect between young people and the police and that’s why we wanted to organise this match. I’m really pleased with how it went and the engagement achieved between the young people and our officers.

“Our work in tackling serious violence is not just about arresting and enforcing but to also work with people from a young age and listen to them as well as to try and educate them."