ACE-supported project to write poetry at football clubs

Arts Council England (ACE) and the National Literacy Trust (NLT) are collaborating on a new project aiming to boost creative writing in areas where there has been a historic lack of investment in cultural opportunities.

The A Poem for your Club project will bring together five football clubs across England with a resident poet who will work with the local community.

The five football clubs – Blackburn Rovers, Stoke City, Crystal Palace, Luton Town, and Portsmouth – are each situated in communities where young people have experienced a lack of creative opportunities.

The five poets will take up residence until the summer at each club, running workshops and activities inside the stadium. The end of the project, which will coincide with the end of the football season, will culminate in an official poem being crafted by the local community.

The project has been designed in response to declining writing levels and a drop in reported enjoyment of writing among young people. Research from NLT in 2024 found children’s enjoyment of writing is at a two-decade low, with fewer than three in ten children (27.8%) saying they enjoyed writing in their free time.

“The relationship between football and poetry is more obvious than it may seem, and A Poem for your Club will give local children and other age groups an opportunity to explore their creativity and love for their team,” said NLT’s senior programme manager for sport and alternative provision, Jim Sells.

“We know that sport can be a great motivator for inspiring reluctant or disengaged children and young people to get involved with writing and we are thrilled to take our wealth of experience connecting sport and literacy into new communities through this project.”