Nottinghamshire Police led grassroots football tournament to kick off next month

Budding footballers in Nottinghamshire are being given the chance to showcase their sporting abilities in a youth football tournament set to take place on 9 June.

The event, known as Community Kicks is run by Nottinghamshire Police every year and will see up to 400 players from across the county compete against each other at Gresham Sports Park in West Bridgford to win trophies and medals.

Contestants will also have the opportunity to be crowned champions of their age category in Nottinghamshire.

The seven- a-side tournament is a community driven initiative that uses football as a universal language to encourage positive youth involvement and respect to promote a united community.

The participants aged between 10 to 16 years will play in three different age categories and children can play in boys, girls or mixed teams.

There will also be a number of free engagement activities for children and their families to enjoy delivered by Nottinghamshire Police and their partners.

External company Virtual Decisions will be hosting a virtual reality experience and educational workshop that raises awareness of the dangers of knife crime.

It uses an activity to educate young people about knife crime and the consequences of carrying a knife.

Virtual Decisions is a trauma informed VR firm that explores the reasons why young people carry knifes. Commissioned by West Midlands Police, it uses real life scenarios to put children in situations where they respond to issues that affect them in a safe, risk-free environment.

The stalls on the day will also include support from recruitment who will offer advice around jobs and CV’s and there will be stands from the RSPCA, the Violence Reduction Partnership, as well as Net Trams at the tournament.

Departments from across the force including the Mansfield neighbourhood policing team, the roads policing and road crime team and the hate crime team will be at the event, along with some players from the Notts County Ladies football team.

Skinny foods have provided Community Kicks with a considerable donation and will also be providing hundreds of goodie bags filled with food for those taking part.

Nottinghamshire Police is grateful to have the support of a number of sponsors including partial fundraising from Mitie, the Co-op and the Violence Reduction Partnership, run by Nottinghamshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner.

Kbeverage, a franchisee of Starbucks are giving reusable cups and LIDL have donated nonperishable food for children to have on the day.

It’s hoped that the day will help to facilitate positive interactions between young people and police officers in a relaxed environment, promoting friendly relationships and helping to break down barriers between the police and the community.

Inspector Paul Peatfield is Nottinghamshire Police’s Prevention Hub lead for engagement.

He said:

“Community Kicks is a great opportunity to bring people from across the county together for a fun family friendly day out and at the same time help young people and their families to develop trust and confidence in the police.

“Nottinghamshire Police is passionate about engaging within the communities we serve, and this is just another way for us, with the help of our partners, to build on this excellent work and further provide positive experiences for young people.

“We look forward to seeing young people from across the county come together for this event and be given the opportunity to display their sporting talents. The deadline for teams to participate is May 26 so please do sign up if you are wishing to take part.”