Why we do it

We’re football supporters. As fans, amateur players, coaches, or administrators we love the game, have done all our lives, and we are now engaged with the sport either through our professional or personal lives. Football is more than a sport, just as people are often more than the labels society gives them.

Driven by a vision: We reach those ostracised or left behind by traditional society structures and recognise the healing power of carefully structured football development programmes, or just a kickabout with friends, or people who share a love of the game as a common denominator.

Looking for projects. We are always looking for need-specific programmes to initiate, and partners to support them. VYD is a relatively new initiative that already has a good track record of success. With more funders and partners, we can enable more projects and do more good. It’s that simple.

Working to a plan: This is not a vanity project. VYD has a solid ambition: To be the To be the most influential sports based social impact organisation in the UK by 2025. To deliver game-changing projects that lead to targeted, long-term behaviour change in deprived communities in England.

That won’t happen overnight or by accident. So we are working to a strategic, time-specific framework.

Good at what we do: From a modest start our programme of projects has expanded exponentially. We’ve worked with diverse cultural groups across the region and engaged big-hitting local partners, such as Care4Calais, The Hummingbird Project, colleges and schools, the council, and the Crew Club Brighton

…and It’s going great.

This is not:

Political: VYD have not, and will not, play politics or pick a side. While as individuals we may have views on why those on VYD programmes need our help, we’re not motivated by the desire to prove a point or provide a stick for one party to use against another.

Professional: Our people include marketing experts, sports coaches and volunteers from all walks of life, linked only by our shared passion in football’s healing powers to improve lives and enable change.

Prejudiced: We have no preconceived ideas about the ideal VYD project profile. The object is purely to find a community group that would benefit from a structured, supported, sustainable and well executed improvement plan that meets any – or more – of the four key criteria.

Our Values

Innovation – sits at the core of all of our projects. We combine sport with science, designing groundbreaking education and wellbeing initiatives alongside high-quality sports coaching.

Social impact – we develop community initiatives that are co-designed with the people we support, combining sport and personal development, to elevate opportunities for all, irrespective of their circumstances.

Partnerships and Collaboration – we work alongside organisations with aligned values, to broaden the quality of our initiatives, and consistently deliver on our promises.

Inspiration and Inclusivity – we develop life changing, inspirational initiatives that are inclusive for all, irrespective of their background, race, gender, sexual orientation or age.


What does success look like?

In the short term, VYD exists to help the vulnerable and disregarded, ostracised and neglected members of our communities.

We will continue to help create better lives for themselves and those on whom they depend through projects like Foodball, Away From Home, Life Goals, Team Talk and Zonal.