Dereham youths get their Kickz at the Rec
A project aimed at getting children into football rather than trouble has been kicked off in Dereham. Kickz, run by Norwich City Football Club in the Community, is for youngsters aged 13 to 19 referred to the project by agencies including the police.
A project aimed at getting children into football rather than trouble has been kicked off in Dereham.
Kickz, run by Norwich City Football Club in the Community, is for youngsters aged 13 to 19 referred to the project by agencies including the police.
It is aimed at steering them away from anti-social behaviour and crime.
Norwich City player Damon Lathrope, 20, joined the group for the official launch on Friday night.
You may also want to watch:
He has been with City for four years after joining the youth team aged 15 and lives in Mattishall.
He said: 'When I was young this would have been brilliant, I would have been here every night to play football rather than playing the streets.'
Most Read
- 1 Drivers face non-essential travel fines after spate of snow crashes
- 2 Are you in our Norfolk school photos from the 1970s?
- 3 Norfolk wakes up to snow with more expected to fall
- 4 Londoners fined for travelling to stay at second home in Norfolk
- 5 Record Covid highs for three areas of Norfolk
- 6 Government must step in to help 'desperate' Norwich hospital, says MP
- 7 Covid case rates continue to fall across Norfolk and Waveney
- 8 Mum starts new year with 2,021-squat charity challenge
- 9 Covid outbreak factory's safety message to customers
- 10 Photo gallery: Snow turns region into winter wonderland
Gavin Coe, partnership development manager, said: 'There are young people who need to be given a direction and often they need to build up individual skills or social skills and that is what we try to do in the project.'
The scheme, running three nights per week for 18 months, was partially funded by a �15,000 grant from Breckland Local Strategic Partnership
Dereham Town Council is giving �17,280 over the three years through providing the facilities at below market rent.
A �600,000 grant from the Youth Sector Development Fund helped fund the Kickz scheme, which has projects already running in Bowthorpe, King's Lynn and now Dereham.
It is planned to launch the scheme in North Walsham and Great Yarmouth as well.
It follows a trial of the project in Cobham, near Yarmouth. There the project is believed to have led to a decrease in anti-social behaviour in the community.
For more information about the project visit www.fitc.org.uk or call 01603 761122.
