Luton Town FC Community Trust in partnership with Luton Council, and global charitable organisation ‘Football for Peace’ have agreed to deliver a project across the Town that uses the power of football to encourage dialogue and unite young people to create greater mutual understanding and respect across communities. 

Head of Trust, Kevin Thoburn describing the project said ‘Football for Peace is a diplomatic sports movement that uses football to create dialogue and unite people. We are looking for young people to work together within Luton’s communities to create greater mutual understanding and respect as well as developing personal skills in the process.’ 

The Community Trust have secured funding from the Home Office’s ‘Building a Stronger Britain Together’ programme to create a group of 30+ ambassadors from school Years 11 and 12. As well as having the chance to organise a peace football tournament at the stadium next May, ambassadors will be able to attend workshops that will cover events management, conflict management, team building, and equality and diversity.  The ambassadors will also be able to gain recognised Level 2 sports qualifications and develop skills that will be helpful for them in the future whilst also benefitting the whole community.

Kevin added that “30 young Peace Ambassadors will be recruited to:

• get involved in something worthwhile that will affect their career choices
• have their voice to be heard in Luton and potentially the rest of the world
• help to organise a showcase Peace Tournament at Luton Town FC
• hear more about conflict resolution, diversity, events management
• gain a recognised L2 sports qualification
• be part of the new Luton Youth Council”

Cllr Aslam Khan, Porfolio Holder for Safer, Stronger Communities, said: “If you are aged 16 or 17, love sport, and are keen to make Luton a better place for everyone, becoming a peace ambassador is a great chance to have your say and make a real difference. I would urge anyone thinking about becoming a peace ambassador to go along to the recruitment event and find out more.”

Kashif Siddiqi, Co-founder and patron of Football for Peace, said: “Football for Peace, is delighted to be able to bring our programme to Luton in partnership with the Council and the football club. We hope our contribution will help create greater mutual understanding and cohesion across the Town whilst developing the skill sets of the young people involved, they are the creators of change within their community and welcome them as our new ambassadors”. 

Luton Town FC Community Operations Manager, Daniel Douglas, said: “We recognise the impact that a relatively small number of young people from across the town can have as leaders in changing perceptions and raising aspirations. We know that Luton’s young people have a lot to contribute to making Luton a place to be proud of and we would like to work with them to achieve this. The project will be covering transport costs, workshops will be free and there will be free LTFC match tickets and lots of sports activities to get involved in. If you are aged 16 or 17, love sport and are keen to make Luton a better place for everyone this is your chance to have your say and make a real difference.”

For more information about the event, or to register your interest please telephone Daniel Douglas on 01582 561622 or email [email protected] to secure a place.