Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny signs as an Epic Ambassador for Street League

Street League is excited to announce a new partnership with Laurent Koscielny, the Arsenal Captain and Premier League defender. In February 2017, Koscielny signed up to become an Epic Ambassador for Street League, the UK charity which uses the power of sports to tackle youth unemployment.

Koscielny said: “I’m proud to be an Epic ambassador for Street League and playing my part using the power of sport to support the most disadvantaged young people in the UK. I think it’s amazing how Street League are using football to help young people overcome their obstacles to getting into work”.

In the UK, 1 in 7 young people are unemployed and Street League supports those who come from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. This national figure also hides huge regional disparity, with the number rising to around 1 in 5 in areas like Glasgow, Dundee, Middlesbrough and London, a few of the key areas where we run programmes. The charity works with unemployed 16-24 year olds to support them into work or training, including those with no qualifications, no work experience, low self-esteem, ex-offenders, mental health issues, and many more barriers to finding a sustainable career. Instead of using traditional education methods, Street League uses the power of sport, such as football, fitness and dance, to teach the transferable skills and values needed to be successful in the workplace.

Koscielny has been described as one of Europe’s most consistent and reliable defenders and beyond his successful football career, he has a stellar reputation of wanting to give back to social causes. Koscielny is a supporter of the Epic Foundation, which connects the world’s leading philanthropists and corporations with outstanding organizations focused on youth well-being. Epic chose Street League in 2016 to join their esteemed portfolio. He also takes part in the yearly Arsenal Foundation Charity Match day where the players each donate a day’s wages to charity.

Recently, Laurent visited a Street League football academy in London to share his motivational advice with a group of youngsters who are currently on a football and employability academy and are working hard to overcome their own obstacles and find sustainable employment. Some of his top tips included:

·       “All you need to succeed is hard work, humility and respect”

·       “You have to work harder than everyone else, all the time”

·       “Every day is an opportunity to change your situation”

 Street League CEO, Matt Stevenson-Dodd says: “Gaining this high-profile support from Laurent is fantastic and testament to the great work Street League are doing all over the UK to change lives through the power of sport. Last year we had our best-ever year with a record 1,281 young people being supported into work and training through our programmes.” 

To donate to Street League and help support young people out of unemployment using the power of sport visit www.streetleague.co.uk.

About Street League: Street League is the UK’s leading sport for employment charity with a vision to see an end to youth unemployment in the UK. The charity offers 8-12 week long sport and work skills programmes to unemployed 16-24 year olds who face significant barriers or obstacles to moving into work. On the programme the young people take part in daily health and fitness activities including football, dance, and fitness, and then spend time developing personalised action plans with one-to-one mentoring support, employability qualifications, CV skills and interview training. They have the opportunity to take part in work placement opportunities before moving into jobs, college courses, apprenticeships or other further training. Street League enjoys a healthy relationship with Premier Inn, Jewson and numerous other companies who have employed many of their graduates.

In 2015-16, Street League supported 1281 young people into employment, education or training with 55% of them sustaining their jobs for more than six-months. Click here to see the charities latest impact statistics.