CashBack for Communities continues to give thousands of underprivileged youngsters a chance
The CashBack for Communities programme continues to be "hugely popular and hugely beneficial" for those involved, according to Scottish FA regional manager Alan Morgan.
Introduced by the Scottish Government, the initiative channels funds from the proceeds of crime into providing free activities and programmes for youngsters across Scotland, with a focus on underprivileged areas.
The Scottish FA has been working alongside the Scottish Government to deliver life-changing projects for the past 15 years and phase six, with an updated structure of programme, enters its second of a three-year cycle.
Working closely with partner clubs and schools, the programme has been able to reach approximately 3,000 young people in Scotland in the last year alone and Morgan is delighted with the outcomes.
He said: "We've been involved in the Cashback for Communities programme since day one. So we've been 15 years, through five phases and this is phase six.
"It is hugely popular and hugely beneficial because it allows us to give funding to club partners to go into their community, establishing links with schools and with the young kids within their schools."
Through the Alternative Education and Alternative Football projects the Scottish FA and partners are able to provide thousands of opportunities for young people using the Power of Football philosophy to engage and support them in their development.
Alternative Football consists of three strands: Go-Fitba; Kick Aboot; and Play Fitba.
Go-Fitba facilitates free Holiday Hunger camps for children aged 10 to 12 years of age, offering football activity during school holiday periods as well as a healthy lunch each day.
Kick Aboot is a targeted ‘outreach’ project over 10-week blocks that will seek to engage with young people aged between 10 and 16 years of age while helping to tackle anti-social behaviour in communities.
Play Fitba is a new programme of diversionary football over 10-week blocks for young people aged between 16 and 25 in targeted communities providing free casual football in a less formal environment than the commitment of playing within an 11-a-side community team.
Alternative Education also consists of three strands: Football Champions; Football Leaders; and Volunteer and Inspire Programme.
Football Champions is a new P5-P7 school programme over 12 weeks within targeted communities consisting of educational subject areas such as health & wellbeing and equality, and it also has a practical element to it with participants developing and delivering a Football Olympics festival to other school pupils.
Football Leaders is a new S4-S6 school programme over six to eight weeks within the same targeted communities focussing on coaching skills and working towards a Scottish FA Certificate.
The young Leaders are mentored throughout the programme and given advice on organisation and adaptation within sessions with the hope that they progress into further voluntary opportunities in their communities.
Volunteer and Inspire Programme is a tailored alternative education programme delivered in 12 identified communities targeting young people in areas of social deprivation and at risk of becoming involved in antisocial behaviour.
Morgan said: "In the Alternative Football programme, the first strand is Go-Fitba, where we're trying to tackle the poverty issues, where our club partners are bringing groups of kids from those families that are most in need, into holiday camps, giving them a bit of activity, and giving them a healthy lunch as well.
"In Kick Aboot and Play-Fitba, we are looking to get kids off the street to play football, perhaps on a Friday evening when the weekend's approaching and there may be nothing to do, and they may be getting into a bit of anti-social behaviour on the streets etc.
"So the clubs will put on a diversity activity, where they can come in and kick a ball and play football with their pals and try to give them something constructive to do.
"Probably the biggest feedback we've had, the most positive feedback bearing in mind it is a brand new programme, is the Football Champions, which we have moved from secondary schools to the P5 to P7 group.
"The feedback that we've had from head teachers, school members, club staff members and feedback from participants has been really, really positive.
"We're asking the head teachers to select a group of 10 or 12 kids they feel would benefit most from the programme, perhaps those struggling with a learning, maybe not attending school as much, or behavioural challenges.
"The groups can be challenging but there's a hook there because they like football and we've got a programme that our clubs can go and deliver in the school. I've had really, really positive feedback."
Jonny Mcphee, development officer at Wasp Community Club, a charitable organisation which operates as the Community Football department of Alloa Athletic FC, has been hugely encouraged by the results he has already seen from the new Football Champions programme.
Redwell Primary, Sunnyside Primary, Park Primary and St Mungo's Primary schools from the Alloa area were all involved in the programme that was completed at the end of last year.
Mcphee, who facilitates young people benefiting in areas such as leadership, confidence and football skills, said: "We send out a syllabus to work with, to start off with, which includes classroom work and then football work on the outside.
"We start off with learning about brain health and football. We've got healthy food and diet. They can design their own strips within the booklet provided. There's loads about activity and health and then we do the football part of it with the focus of it, finishing with a Football Olympics.
"The whole point of all the football and the learning is the kids start off being coached by myself, but they finish the programme being the coaches themselves.
"They run a session as a small group of two or three and then we brought in a Primary 1, Primary 2 or a Primary 3 class, and they had to run the session with the younger pupils
"You always have those first session silences but as soon as I gave them one or two ideas, they just ran with it.
"I painted every single session as 'I'm the coach for the first three or four weeks, but after that, I'm no longer the coach, you have to be the coaches, and I'm just here to answer questions'.
"They created their own sessions and ran their own ideas, they wrote them all down and it was the same with the classroom stuff.
"I would start off with videos, and I would ask a few questions, and then I would create a classroom debate between them all."
Mcphee was surprised by how quickly and how well the pupils bought into the initiative.
He said: "I thought I'd probably have to be more hands-on than I was, especially with them having to coach their own sessions.
"But as soon as their imagination started, they just took off. It would be a case of they would run over to me and ask me to come and watch it.
"They'd maybe ask if I'd change it, or what they could do to change it.
"You see the kids take control of things really quickly, giving them that opportunity to empower themselves to do it.
"Being able to pose problems and getting them to create solutions was really beneficial for them, because at no point did I ever give them an answer. They had to figure it out themselves.
"I think the programme will probably just get bigger and continue to flourish."