Football clubs and Crimestoppers have collaborated for the second time to tackle knife crime in the UK. Four Merseyside football clubs, Everton, Liverpool, Marine, and Tranmere, came together for the Four Clubs One Goal initiative to raise awareness for the Enough is Enough message. The message addressed the high numbers of young victims of knife crime in Merseyside and aimed to prevent further attacks. The event featured a round-robin football tournament with sessions led by James Riley, founder of the Gangs program, Street Doctors, and Crimestoppers on the dangers of knife crime. Winners of the tournament were the team representing LFC for boys and the team representing Marine FC for girls. The event aimed to highlight the positive aspects of each club’s community foundations while emphasizing the destructiveness of knives.
The collaboration between football clubs and Crimestoppers also aimed to reduce the no grass culture by encouraging anonymous reporting to the charity. During the day, Everton legend and ambassador Ian Snodin and Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher presented the medals and trophies to the winners of the girl’s and boy’s events. Crimestoppers volunteer David Fairclough praised the event, saying that it was a fantastic day with competitive matches played in a great spirit. He also reiterated that young people were at greater risk of being stabbed if they carried knives, highlighting the importance of education and prevention.
Overall, this event emphasized the importance of sports and community involvement in preventing knife crimes among young people. By using a variety of educational methods, including sports, informative sessions and highlighting positive community foundations, this event aimed to reduce knife crime in Merseyside and promote a better understanding of the dangers of such crimes.
