Video: Spurs boss Villas-Boas gives football masterclass to launch report highlighting how sport is combatting UK gang culture

Saturday, January 19, 2013
7:00 AM

Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas this week launched a report highlighting how local community sports project are combatting anti-social behaviour and gang culture across the UK.

The report, from the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, found that 80 per cent of youngsters who take part in such programmes say they are more likely to stay away from gangs and anti-social behaviour in the future.

As well as taking youngsters away from gang culture, sport has also been proven to have a benefit on youth development. Indeed, 69 per cent of youngsters polled said that they have a more optimistic outlook on the future since taking part in a local project, with 65 per cent saying they had improved their social skills as a result of their participation,

The research questioned participants and project leaders from The Laureus Urban Stars programme and was launched by Villas-Boas in Elephant & Castle, south London.

The projects work with young people, aged 13-19, who are vulnerable, marginalised and disadvantaged.

More than half of the participants are not in formal education and almost 90 per cent not in training. Laureus Urban Stars programmes operate in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow and London.