The British Council, together with partners in the UK and Kenya, is initiating a new and innovative football-based programme in Kenya to address gender-based violence with young people. As part of the Premier Skills programme and alongside the community coach education training programme, the Premier League and the British Council have developed the ‘Inspired by Kicks’ model which will be adapted to specifically address violence against women and girls.The British Council will test the approach through piloting and developing the programme in Kenya, initially in the Mount Elgon region of Western Kenya and roll-out to a further two locations in another region by building in learning from the pilot, provide evidence of impact and assess the potential for replication in other countries. This 3 year programme is funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) - with a contribution from the British Council. Kenyan partners for the pilot project include the County Government of Bungoma, UN Women, ACORD, Moving the Goalposts Kilifi, Football Kenya Federation and ACF Leopards.
Over the 3 years, the programme will build the capacity of 96 local community coaches to deliver locally owned and led football sessions to children and young people between the ages of 10 – 18 years of age in an on-going bases. These football sessions will provide the platform to sensitise approximately 3000 participating children and young people on issues around violence against women and girls. This will be achieved through the delivery of regular, inclusive football sessions with an emphasis on values and behaviour-led activities alongside an awareness-raising curriculum around the prevention of violence against women and girls. The programme will utilise community festivals and a targeted advocacy campaign to sensitise the larger community in the two regions.