Nottingham football project set up to tackle gang culture

Jourdan Blair is seeking to "change the mindset" of some young people

A youth worker whose brother was stabbed to death has set up a football project to help tackle gang culture and potentially save lives.

Jourdan Blair, from Nottingham, believes the "Football is Life" initiative can "change the mindset" of young people living in inner cities.

The 36-year-old said through matches and workshops, he hopes to deter young people away from gangs.

In 2002, Mr Blair's brother was killed outside a pub in St Ann's.

Mr Blair's older brother Remi Samuels was stabbed to death at the age of 17

Mr Blair, who helps young people at the Community Recording Studio in St Ann's, said his older sibling Remi Samuels was a promising footballer when he was killed at the age of 17.

"I came across an old picture of me and my brother in our school football team," he said.

"He was a very good player but he went down the wrong avenue and his life got cut short due to knife crime, which is sad.

"So, I've seen people with bags of talent and potential lose their whole life by not believing in themselves. I feel I've got a responsibility to try and inspire."

'Take it nationally'

Mr Blair said following the success of a football tournament he helped organised in September, involving 10 teams and more than 200 young people, he wanted to do more to "build togetherness".

He organised for a squad of 20 people to play their first Under-21 match on Thursday in the West Midlands. Nottingham's Football is Life team won the game 9-0 against Birmingham's Ambitious Sports.

Mr Blair has also planned fixtures in Bristol, London and Manchester.

"I want to get players from different postcodes together and give them a platform using the tool football," he said.

"Our goal is to take it nationally and meet like-minded young people and show them it's bigger than inner-city areas."

Eugene said football could create opportunities and provide a sense of direction for young people

One player, 17-year-old Eugene, who hopes to go to university, said he had avoided gang culture in Nottingham.

"You see people with money, flash cars and it leads younger people to think 'I want to be like them'," he said.

"It's very easy for people like us to be drawn into that gang life, but if we get opportunities, like football, it gives us more direction."

Mr Blair said playing football alongside workshops would help keep young people out of prison, and even avoid death.

"There's a choice, we can either be at Perry Road HMP, or Forest's City Ground... or in a cemetery plot," he said.

"I've seen it so many times. It's about saving some of these young people's lives.

"Football is a language they speak and it can keep them out of prison because it gives them focus, discipline and something to strive towards.

"But it's not just about football. I want to change their mindset and the narrative of how our young people think."