More than 1,750 passionate young minds from across England and Wales united to take action and champion environmental sustainability within their football clubs and communities.
This initiative was part of the annual Premier League Inspires Challenge, a flagship programme delivered collaboratively with community club organisations nationwide.
The Premier League Inspires programme is an ongoing initiative aimed at supporting 11–25-year-olds who face potential challenges in reaching their full potential as they navigate through the education system and early adulthood.
Since its inception in 2019, the West Ham United Foundation has been actively involved in Premier League Inspires, positively impacting over 500 young individuals across 15 local schools.
At the heart of the Premier League Inspires Challenge lies the empowerment of young participants to embark on social action projects that drive positive change in the world around them. This year's challenge asked these bright minds to explore the environmental sustainability challenges faced by football clubs.
Responding to the call, the young participants from the West Ham United Foundation designed a project aimed at raising awareness about the pressing dangers of climate change in their school in East London. Their campaign, aptly named "Protect the Planet," seeks to promote environmentally friendly practices within the local community, inspiring sustainable living.
A key aspect of the "Protect the Planet" campaign involved the creation of captivating artworks displayed throughout the school's corridors and classrooms. Additionally, the participants passionately presented their work in an assembly, ensuring that their message of environmental sustainability resonated with as many of their peers as possible.
One of the campaign creators expressed the group's sentiment, stating: "It is important we all know the dangers of climate change as it will have a terrible effect on the community that we live in. We need to try and protect the environment as best as we can to make sure the world we live in is sustainable."
To celebrate their accomplishments and encourage knowledge-sharing, our enthusiastic group of young champions were invited to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to present their project. The event was part of a whole host of regional celebrations where participants were encouraged to exchange insights and details of their impactful activities with like-minded peers representing 44 clubs from the Premier League and the English Football League.
Notably, the Premier League has been unwavering in its commitment to combat climate change and promote sustainability. As a signatory of the UN Sports for Climate Action framework since 2021, the Premier League strives to reduce its own emissions by 50% before 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2040, aligning with the 1.5 degrees global warming limit of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Premier League Head of Sustainability, Will Hutton, emphasised the league's dedication to environmental sustainability, saying: "Environmental sustainability is of great importance to the Premier League and our clubs, and we recognise the need to take action on climate change.
“We must all play our part in this important issue, and through the Premier League Inspires Challenge, young people have come up with some brilliant ideas to help build upon the great work already underway at clubs. I hope these young people can continue to build on these ideas to help drive positive environmental sustainability action in school, at home, and in their communities."
