Football Beyond Borders

In December, we had the incredible opportunity to take 110 girls to a pitch day at Wembley Stadium, thanks to our amazing partner Nike Football and the support of The Football Association. The day was packed with excitement: ⚽ Our girls took part in a mini-tournament and skill honing drills, playing on the very same pitch where footballing legends have achieved greatness. 🎤 In the press room, they hosted post-match press conferences, stepping into the shoes of players and gaining a taste of life in the spotlight. This immersive experience gave our young people the chance to feel part of something bigger than themselves. Bringing together school groups from across our programmes also created a valuable opportunity for them to put their social and emotional learning skills into action, fostering teamwork, connection, and confidence in themselves. Spending the day in such an iconic stadium felt transformational—not just for our young people but for us as an organisation. And while the girls were busy on the pitch, we were honoured to launch our 2023-24 Impact Results in the Nike box, celebrating our strongest year of impact yet. 💪 📖 Read our full impact report here: https://lnkd.in/ekj9rvJf A huge thank you to Nike Football and The FA for making this unforgettable day possible. Here’s to more transformational opportunities for our young people in 2025! 💫 📹 edit by Talitha G.

Massive congratulations to our girl Debra Nelson after being appointed to the Board of the Women's Professional Leagues Limited 🎉 Debra is the first ever Board Observer and will get the chance to bring a youth culture perspective to board discussions, continuing her commitment to using football as a tool for social change. After spending years battling with the idea that there wasn’t a space in football for young girls like her, Debra's new role ensures the women’s game is relevant, inclusive and inspiring to a younger generation.

We’ve been providing trusted adults to the most vulnerable young people in the form of FBB practitioners since 2014 ❤️🔥 and in 2023-24 we delivered our strongest impact to date 💪🏽 We’re proud to share our Impact Report findings with you and thank each and every one of you for your support in helping us achieve these results: https://lnkd.in/ekj9rvJf Animation by Jenks in the Cut (https://lnkd.in/eRzzTkzX) Illustrations by Raj Dhunna and Justine Hyde-Mobbs

Following the appointment of the incredible Paul Barber OBE as our new Non-Executive Chair, we're delighted to share an insightful interview with Paul by The Guardian's Ed Aarons. The interview, conducted against the iconic backdrop of Wembley Stadium, captures Paul's leadership journey and his excitement for the future of FBB. Paul’s unwavering belief in the power of trusted adult relationships aligns perfectly with our mission to transform the lives of young people through football. As we step into 2025, we’re excited to work alongside Paul to drive FBB’s ambitions for growth and deeper impact. 📖 Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/gKWksf5m

🚨 Exciting Announcement 🚨 We’re thrilled to welcome Paul Barber OBE as the new Non-Executive Chair of Football Beyond Borders! Paul is one of football’s most respected leaders, with a career spanning decades of transformative leadership, including his role as Chief Executive of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, where he has guided the club to remarkable growth and success, cementing its place in the Premier League. His passion for football’s power to inspire and transform young lives is deeply aligned with our mission. Paul Barber shares: “I have witnessed first hand the incredible work Football Beyond Borders does with young people, and I am honoured and excited to have the opportunity to work with such a talented and committed group of people. Over the past decade, Football Beyond Borders has positively impacted the lives of many thousands of young people who were lacking a trusted adult in their lives. My role is to help the charity develop to extend and accelerate this work.” A Word from FBB's Chief Executive, Jack Reynolds "I'm delighted that Paul Barber is the new Chair of Football Beyond Borders. He combines an exceptional track record as a Chief Executive in football, with a deep commitment to our mission. He is the perfect addition to our team as we work towards our vision of a country where every young person has a trusted adult relationship." We are excited to embark on this next chapter under Paul’s guidance as we continue empowering young people through education and football. #FootballBeyondBorders #Leadership #YouthEmpowerment #TrustedAdults

As we reach the end of our first term delivering the Building Futures programme with Youth Futures Foundation, we’re incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made together this year. 🚀 What we’ve achieved so far: - We’ve started delivery of the first wave of the pilot across 8 programmes and supported over 100 young people across three regions. - Welcomed evaluation visits from the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) to The Urswick School and Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Academy, helping us to reflect on and refine our impact. - Represented our work and mission at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport Showcase in Manchester this October, sharing the progress of Building Futures with key stakeholders. Working collaboratively on our theory of change has been a critical part of this journey, and the visuals from our theory of change ideation sessions highlight our mutually shared energy and commitment to system change and the sheer breadth of inspiration derived from our collaboration. We’re excited to push forward into the new year, building on this incredible work and driving progress toward our shared mission. Together, we’re unlocking opportunities, inspiring young people, and working toward a brighter future. Here’s to more innovation, impact, and progress in 2025! 🙌

Strong Squads are Built on Honouring Difference and Shared Growth: A Day at The Elmgreen School with Comic Relief and TK MAXX   At Football Beyond Borders, we believe that true team strength comes not just from shared goals but from valuing the diversity within a team—the distinct experiences, values, and needs each individual brings to the table. Our Squad Goals module challenges young people to explore these dynamics, building teams where difference is celebrated, not sidelined. Recently, we were thrilled to invite our partners, Comic Relief and TJX Europe (TK MAXX & HomeSense ), to observe us bringing this part of our curriculum to life at Elmgreen School. We visited our Year 9 girls as they crafted a collective vision for the school year, aligning their personal values with squad goals around kindness and mutual respect. Through creating posters, the girls outlined goals and mottos that they'd hold each other accountable to, touching on important themes like behaviour towards teachers, punctuality, and openness. Our guests, including Comic Relief CEO Samir Patel and Director of Partnerships Jane Lamb, and members of the TJX Europe senior leadership team, didn’t just observe—they engaged directly with the students, sharing insights from their own journeys. This wasn’t just a day of interaction but an exchange of inspiration. Our guests were touched by the girls’ values and the vision they created, with the posters serving as a powerful example of how team identity can inspire growth and transformation in others. The TJX Europe team, in particular, shared ideas on goal-setting, rooted in their professional and personal values. In a wonderful twist, it was the girls who inspired our visitors, suggesting values they themselves could adopt! We were thrilled to hear talk of these posters finding a place in the TJX Europe HQ—a powerful reminder that inspiration flows both ways in partnerships like these. A huge thank you to Elmgreen School—our long-standing partner of ten years—for warmly hosting our guests and to Comic Relief and TJX Europe for their support. Together, we’re helping young people embrace difference and grow as individuals and teams, preparing them for futures full of potential.

Had a great morning at Football Beyond Borders Impact Report launch and Nike pitch day. Heard about some great work they are doing which reminded me about why I got into the world of sport in the first place. They're building a movement to create a country where every young person has a trusted adult relationship. Steve S.; Stacey Mullock; Alton Brown making you aware of their work in case you weren't already.

Really enjoyed the launch of Football Beyond Borders’s new impact report at Wembley Stadium last week. It was great to be among a hugely engaged group of people - so many industry leaders wanting to learn more about what FBB do - especially around their goal of having a trusted adult for every young person in the UK. A special shout out to Jack Reynolds, Ceylon Andi Hickman, Gabrielle Hamill, Grant Igbokwe (& Kash, the brilliant young man who’s enjoyed the FBB programme so much) for their words. Then wrapping up the day with 120 girls playing on the pitch at Wembley, doing mock press conferences and seeing the changing rooms - I’m sure an experience they’ll never forget! Thanks to Celeste Sinclair for joining me for the day - really inspiring. So proud to be a small part of this wonderful charity!

It was an absolute pleasure to attend the launch by Football Beyond Borders of its 2024 Impact Report last week! Thank you to Matt Stevenson-Dodd for including me as your guest and to the wonderful team at FBB of Jack Reynolds, Ceylon Andi Hickman, Gabrielle Hamill and Martha Clayden for such an inspiring and fun morning! Being on the Wembley Pitch was a real thrill, even though it reminded me of how poor my shooting skills have become! The concept of a "trusted adult" for young people is so simple, and yet so powerful. Building trust with others at any age is never easy, but listening intently is the foundation. I hope to be able to be helpful in the weeks, months and years ahead and encourage my network to take a look at the fantastic work you do. Wish you all the best for the holidays and for 2025 and beyond! #trustedadult #mentoring #coaching