Crawley Town Community Foundation hosted an Anti-Knife Crime Tournament as part of the Premier League Kicks programme at People’s Pension Stadium on Friday 1st March.
The tournament attracted 51 young people, who turned up from all over Crawley to take part in the popular event.
Players were split into 6 teams, and together with the tournament we hosted an Anti-Knife Crime workshop during the evening.
Participants were shown 2 powerful videos, which show the true effect knife crime has on people and families. Following this was a series of questions relating to their personal view on knife related crime.
Each player in the winning team of the tournament received training shirts from the Crawley Town FC first team, along with a ticket each to the next home game.
This was a reward for their fantastic contribution and football displayed throughout the tournament.
Adam Wicking, Premier League Co-ordinator, said about the Tournament, “ It was great to have young people turn up from 6 different parts of Crawley. This is the sort of thing we must continue in order to break down any barriers and issues between areas.”
Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC) Katy Bourne attended the event, along with Henry Smith MP for Crawley, who have been long-term supporters of the Foundation’s Kicks programme in the community.
It was Katy who invested a cheque for £5,000 in 2014 that launched Crawley Town’s first ever Kicks project in Bewbush, and from that initial seed and together with Premier League funding, the programme has now grown into 7 Kicks projects in Crawley and East Grinstead.
The Sussex PCC invested a further £5,000 into this Anti-Knife Crime tournament, and so Katy was interested to see where the money was spent and the work being delivered on behalf of the PCC.
Katy Bourne said, “Events like this are so important for young people nowadays, it keeps them out of criminality, it gives them something healthy to do, it teaches them about friendship and teamwork”.
Darren Ford, Head of Community Development, said this about the Anti-Knife Crime Tournament, “It’s great to see a good turnout at the tournament and this is testament to the work of the staff within the community.
We are grateful for the PCC’s support, which has enabled us to provide the young people with the opportunity to access the session and deliver the Anti-Knife Crime message, which is so important and high on the social agenda.”
For more information on our Premier League Kicks sessions go to our website - https://www.ctcommunityfoundation.com/community-development-1
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