Young people helping to tackle poor mental health through Premier League Inspires Challenge

 

The Challenge is one element of the Premier League Inspires programme, which clubs run on a weekly basis to support 11–18-year-olds who may be at risk of not reaching their potential as they move through the education system and early adulthood. 

 

The Premier League Inspires Challenge empowers participants to take on a social action project and make a difference to the world around them. 

 

This season, young people were tasked with raising awareness of mental health and wellbeing in their communities. Students from the Market Weighton School representing Tigers Trust developed a project to get more students and staff at their school engaged in activities to support physical and mental well-being. 

 

Students in the group have utilised existing facilities and resources at their school to put together a menu of activities that can run in school across the week either before the school day or during lunch for peers to get involved with. Some of these include a mile walk/run on the 4G before school which staff and students can attend, games activities during lunch in the library and sessions just to allow people to come and talk to others and share their successes and seek support if they are having a tough day. Staff already on duty during lunch periods are on hand to support and ensure sessions are safe for students and further support can be provided if needed. 

 

After brainstorming their mental health social action ideas, participants from Tigers Trust eagerly joined hundreds of other young people at the Premier League Inspires Challenge celebration event held at Wembley Stadium on April 25th. 

 

Here, they enthusiastically shared the details of their initiatives with fellow peers, who were representing 45 clubs from across the Premier League and the English Football League. Students also engaged in a workshop focused on emotions, exploring various projects, voting on the topic for next year's challenge, and capping it all off with an exciting Wembley Stadium Tour made for a truly memorable experience. 

 

This Challenge builds upon the Premier League’s ongoing Inside Matters mental health campaign and the League’s commitment as a signatory of the Mentally Healthy Football Declaration in 2020, which brought together all UK football organisations to help create a mentally healthy environment across the game. 

 

Premier League Charitable Fund Chief Executive, Ruth Shaw OBE, said: “The Premier League and Premier League Charitable Fund are committed to working with professional football clubs, fans, players, communities, and partners to remind everyone that it is okay not to be okay and that it is vitally important that we keep up the conversation on mental health. 

 

“Through the Premier League Inspires Challenge young people from across England and Wales have developed some brilliant ideas to create positive, mentally healthy environments at their football clubs and in school, at home and in their communities.” 

 

Launched in 2019, Premier League Inspires creates life-changing opportunities for young people who have been identified by their schools as needing extra support to engage with activities, helping them to develop the personal skills and positive attitudes needed to succeed in life. 

 

Using the power of football, the programme helps to prepare young people for further education and employment through a series of face-to-face mentoring sessions, workshops and social-action projects. 

 

The Tigers Trust began its Premier League Inspires delivery in 2019 and since then has supported 1,550 people through 4001 sessions or events in 12 local schools. 

 

This season, 45 professional football club community organisations across the Premier League and English Football League are delivering Premier League Inspires sessions at their stadiums, in local schools and at alternative educational settings, with partnership support from the Professional Footballers’ Association. 

 

More than 29,000 young people from across England and Wales have received more than 125,000 hours of targeted support through the programme to date. 

 

To find out more, please visit premierleague.com.