My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
Yes
I am 18 years of age or above, by the application deadline.
Yes
My organisation is a registered UK entity and has a London-based address.
Yes
My organisation is a non-profit (e.g. school, university, or local authority) — not a for-profit, which can only join as a partner.
Yes
If there is a for-profit organisation as a partner in my initiative, they work on a cost-recovery basis only.
Yes
My solution is implemented at scale, or if not, I have a clear business plan, a minimum viable solution (prototype, pilot, or proof of concept), evidence of access to a lease for the space you are leveraging, and evidence of work or impact in London within your coalition.
Yes
I am aware that, if I am submitting more than one application to a Challenge run by Ashoka and Go! London, only one of them is able to progress through the stages.
Yes
Are you an employee (and their children and grandchildren) of Ashoka or any of its respective affiliates and participating advertising and promotion agencies?
No
I have read and accepted the Challenge Terms & Conditions.
Yes
First Name
Robin
Last Name
Lockhart
Pronouns
He/Him
Email address
I would like to receive notifications and updates about Go London!, Ashoka, Ashoka Changemakers, and other Ashoka opportunities.
1
Are you an Ashoka Fellow?
No
Are you applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow?
No
If you are applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow, please specify the name and organisation of the fellow below.
Lead Organisation Name
Catalyst In Communities CIC
Year that you started/ registered your organisation
2011
Initiative Title
Reclaiming the Game: Community Led Football Spaces for Belonging and Youth Leadership
My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
1
Website URL(s) or Social Media Handles
www.teamcic.com
Initiative Stage
Established (You’ve successfully passed early phases and have a plan for the future. Your venture has been in existence for 6 years and above)
Sectors/Themes: What topic does your project most directly relate to?
Children & Youth
Initiative Summary: Describe your initiative in one sentence
'Reclaiming the Game' uses football as a trusted key to unlock underused spaces, rebuild belonging & develop youth leadership in London communities through co-created, community led sport, learning & play.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve and who will benefit the most from your solution? How close are you to the problem and/or community impacted?
Young marginalised / racialised Londoners tell us they lack access to safe, welcoming, meaningful spaces for sport, play & informal-learning outside school, especially for grassroots & informal sport, rather than traditional club-based provision. While physical spaces do exist, they are often inaccessible in practice due to cost, restrictive ownership, lack of trust, poor relationships with institutions, experiences of exclusion, or over-policing. As a result, many young people say public spaces simply do not feel safe or meant for them. So, sport is often delivered to young people rather than with them, leading to low engagement, short-term participation & limited long-term impact. Even where high-quality provision exists, young people report feeling unwelcome unless they are already skilled - an issue that disproportionately affects those often incorrectly ‘labelled’ as “challenging”, “disruptive” or “anti-social”. This creates a Catch-22: young people want to participate & sport could help them regulate high energy, build confidence, teamwork & communication skills, yet they feel excluded from the very spaces that could support them. The challenge is most acute for those disconnected from education, employment or services, & in communities where public space has been eroded or heavily regulated. Football remains one of the few consistent attractions, but often narrowly, prioritises competition over connection, wellbeing & fun CIC works at the heart of this issue. Based in E.London, & bring decades of youth & community development experience, working in estates, parks, youth clubs, schools & informal spaces. The issue is not a lack of interest in sport, but a lack of belonging, trust and shared ownership of space. Young people do not feel part of the village...
Your approach: How are you/ will you addressing the problem outlined above? How does your solution unlock or reimagine access to spaces for sport and physical activity? What role do landowners, local authorities, or other decision-making stakeholders play in your approach? We'd love to know about the origin of your idea, and what was your "aha" moment" that led you to take action?
Our approach starts with a clear insight: the core barrier isn't lack of sport / space, but lack of belonging, trust & sharedownership. Young people disengage when spaces feel controlled, conditional / unsafe, rather than welcoming & designed with them in mind. We address this by instead of delivering sport to young people, we co-create informal, grassroots activity with them. Football is a familiar & trusted entry point, but reframed away from competition & performance, towards connection, wellbeing, agency & community. Young people help shape how sessions run, how space is used & how boundaries are agreed. This immediately lowers barriers for those excluded from formal clubs or labelled as “challenging” or “disengaged”, & builds safety through relationships rather than enforcement. We unlock access by reimagining how existing spaces are used. Parks, estates & underused community facilities become shared assets rather than policed environments. When young people are trusted as co-stewards of space, their relationship to it shifts from temporary use to genuine ownership. Landowners, local authorities & other decision-makers play a vital enabling role. We work with them as partners, supporting a move from risk-averse control to proportionate, relationship-based access. We act as a bridge -translating young people’s realities into practical, low-risk ways institutions can open space more flexibly. Our “aha” moment came from listening. Young people told us: “We want to play, but don’t feel welcome in a league.” We realised the issue was not behaviour or motivation, but perception, trust & ownership. Change only happens when young people feel part of the village - and when the village begins to trust them, placing them at the heart of the village!
Collaboration with young people and the community: In what ways does your initiative engage young people and community members closest to the problem? What role do they play in building the solution you deliver?
Young people & community members aren't participants in our work, they're cocreators - always & all ways through our Ubuntu process. From initial conversations through to delivery & evaluation, we involve those closest to the problem in shaping solutions. Young people help identify which spaces feel safe or unsafe, what times / formats work for them, & what barriers prevent participation. Many take on leadership roles as peer mentors, organisers, referees & ambassadors, supported through training in facilitation, restorative practice, Ubuntu & wellbeing. Community members, including parents, local coaches, youth workers & faith & cultural leaders, are engaged to build trust & continuity around the spaces we activate. For example, young people work alongside local partners to agree shared principles for how parks / pitches are used, reducing conflict & increasing shared ownership. This co-created approach ensures the initiative reflects the lived reality of each community & builds local capacity rather than dependency. For this project, an advisory group of our current participants asked for a football based project that will enable young people be active, play sport & feel part of their community by bringing sport & play into everyday local spaces, rather than relying on sports centres or football pitches, rather than involving formal football clubs, they requested fun, informal matches & a ‘wrap around’ programme of workshops & positive youth development activities. We will run short, pop-up sport & play sessions in places young people already know & use, such as parks / open spaces, housing estates & shared outdoor areas, community squares, school playgrounds after school hours & will offer a variety of football formats from Futsal, to crossbar-challenges.
Potential for/Evidence of Impact: How do you imagine your initiative will make a difference in unlocking spaces for and access to physical activity and sport so far? If you have already implemented it, what difference have you made so far? What is the impact your initiative has had , and or what impact do you envision having in the future?
Our football based initiatives engage thousands of young people across London & the wider UK, as well as internationally (through our Commonwealth endorsed Henry Charles Cup). Many of those participants were previously disengaged from sport/other services. Outcomes include increased participation in regular physical activity, improved wellbeing, stronger peer relationships & progression into leadership, volunteering/employment pathways.Outputs include regular community led sessions, leadership programmes, & formal partnerships with local authorities & schools/other local facilities (public & private) to unlock access to spaces. Longer term impact includes increased community cohesion, reduced conflict around shared spaces & young people developing confidence, purpose & agency.Looking ahead, this has potential to unlock access to sport & play for many more young Londoners by embedding a replicable model combining youth leadership, positive youth development workshops, community ownership & institutional partnerships. We collect both qualitative stories & quantitative participation data to evidence scale, depth & sustainability over time.Our Commonwealth Cup is fully endorsed by the Commonwealth & as we work towards a global tournament (in 2028/29 season), the opportunity to 'kick off' in London with young people really presents a unique opportunity to gather, compare & utilise data to generate improvements for those furthest from opportunity.Impacts include regular, free grassroots sessions in spaces previously unused, improved relationships between young people, local services/landowners, increased confidence, emotional regulation/connection, reduced conflict young people taking responsibility for & care of space, sustained access to safe, welcoming spaces.
Innovation: What is different about your initiative compared to other solutions that are already out there? How is your approach original and innovative?
What makes our initiative different is that we do not treat lack of participation as a motivation or skills problem. We treat it as a belonging, trust & power issue. Most sports interventions focus on improving delivery, facilities or performance; our innovation lies in changing who space is for and how it is governed. At CIC, we apply a youth work & community development lens to grassroots sport. Football is not the “solution” but the social technology that allows us to rebuild relationships between young people, public space & institutions is. Our approach is innovative in three key ways. 1. Co-stewardship of space .Rather than supervised access or booking-led models, young people become co-stewards of space. They help set norms, shape use & take responsibility, shifting spaces from 'policed' environments to shared community assets.2. Informal sport as infrastructure . We treat informal football as social infrastructure, an entry point to wellbeing, connection & civic participation rather than a pathway to competition or talent identification.3. Bridging institutions & lived experience . We actively 'translate' between young people, landowners & local authorities, enabling flexible, low-risk access agreements that institutions often struggle to design alone.This tackles the root cause of exclusion: systems that prioritise control over relationship, & risk management over trust. Our model shifts norms away from “prove you deserve access” towards “belonging comes first”. The originality of our approach is not in inventing a new sport, but in re-wiring how power, permission & participation operate in everyday spaces. That is what allows deep, durable change, not just more activity, but a different relationship between young people, place & community
Viability and Scalability: How are you setting your initiative up for success, and what is your plan to ensure operational sustainability of your solution and its impact? What are your ideas for scaling your initiative to the next level?
The initiative is built on existing infrastructure, sustainability is built in from the start, strong partnerships & organisational track record make it viable from the outset - designed to be low-cost & scalable, to unlock underused spaces, reduce inequalities in access to sport, & enabling community-led, sustainable activity. This keeps delivery costs low & enables rapid activation. Our model relies on trusted relationships, local knowledge & consistent presence, rather than high overheads or specialist facilities. We combine grant funding with partnerships, sponsorship & earned income opportunities linked to events, training & consultancy. To scale, we will formalise borough partnerships, train more youth leaders/community facilitators, develop clear toolkits to support local adaptation. GoLondon support enables us to strengthen evaluation, deepen partnerships with landowners & local authorities & accelerate expansion across London towards a London wide network of community led 'football festival' spaces that are locally owned, youth led & systemically supported. Our model is intentionally replicable across boroughs. Our long-term vision aligns directly with GoLondon’s ambition: spaces that are active, inclusive & shaped by the communities that use them, not temporarily opened, but sustainably reimagined. With additional boroughs joining in future years. We anticipate that participants in our project will be able to progress in to our Commonwealth Cup eventually, presenting amazing opportunities for sponsorships, expansion & sustainability. The project is high-profile, building on our successful https://catalystincommunities.com/legacy-football-league/ & https://catalystincommunities.com/henry-charles-commonwealth-cup/ projects profiles and existing partnerships.
Roles and Responsibilities: Describe how responsibilities are shared among your team or partners.
Catalyst in Communities is the lead organisation & accountable body. We are responsible for programme design, coordination, safeguarding, delivery, partnership management & impact reporting. Our team leads direct engagement with young people, delivery in informal & underused spaces, & relationship building with local stakeholders to ensure consistent, trusted presence. We will also coordinate the fun football sessions through our specialist football coaches and youth development team. Young people contribute as co designers, leaders & ambassadors. Local partners such as councils, schools, housing providers & community organisations support access to space, local coordination & sustainability. Additional specialist partners support training, monitoring & communications where required. This initiative is delivered through a clear, collaborative partnership model, ensuring effective delivery, shared accountability & strong place-based impact. London Youth supports sector connectivity & local engagement, helping link the initiative to trusted youth organisations & practitioners, & strengthening reach into communities facing the greatest barriers to participation. Education Development Trust contributes expertise in learning, direct school links, evaluation & evidence-building, supporting reflective practice & helping translate delivery insights into scalable, place-based models aligned with wider education & wellbeing outcomes.Our Commonwealth partnerships, including links via the Commonwealth Secretariat, contribute youth leadership principles, inclusive practice & global insight, strengthening the quality, credibility & learning potential of the initiative. The London Legacy Development Corporation acts as a key place-based enabler, supporting access to space, alignment with regeneration priorities & collaboration across l&owners & local systems. The National Youth Agency provides alignment with national youth work standards, safeguarding expectations & workforce development principles, ensuring quality & consistency. Vitally, Young people are active delivery partners, contributing to co-design, peer leadership & stewardship of space, directly supporting GoLondon’s priority for community-led, sustainable use of spaces. Together, these partners create a strong, credible delivery ecosystem with the capacity to deliver, sustain & scale impact across London.
Upcoming Milestones: Please provide an overview of the milestones that are required for your initiative to come to fruition/to grow.
Key milestones initially include confirming borough partners & spaces, recruiting & training youth leaders, activating pilot sites, delivering regular sessions & community events, & capturing learning & impact data. Over the following phases, we will refine the model, expand to additional boroughs & embed longer term agreements with landowners & stakeholders. Our delivery plan follows a clear, phased timeline aligned to Go London expectations for readiness, activation, learning & scale. Months 1–2 | Mobilise • Confirm priority delivery sites (parks, estates, community or school spaces) • Agree access & use arrangements with landowners & local partners • Finalise safeguarding, risk & monitoring frameworks • Recruit & brief delivery staff & volunteers • Co-design activity with young people Months 3–5 | Activate • Launch regular, free grassroots football sessions • Embed youth co-stewardship & peer leadership roles • Establish consistent presence in each space • Begin participation, attendance & retention tracking Months 6–8 | Embed • Stabilise regular use of spaces & participation levels • Strengthen relationships with local authorities & landowners • Support young people into ongoing leadership roles • Capture early outcomes linked to access, wellbeing & belonging Months 9–onwards | Review & Scale • Review delivery data & learning • Identify additional underused spaces for expansion • Develop a simple, replicable delivery model & toolkit • Secure partner commitments for continuation & wider roll-out /expansion. Led by Catalyst in Communities, this timeline demonstrates a credible, low-risk pathway from activation to sustained, community-led use of space, ready for refinement & scaling with Go London support.
Capacity-Building Participation and Support Funding: If you were to make it as a finalist, you will be required to participate in an 8-week capacity building programme. If funding/ cost is a barrier to your participation, we may be able to offer up to 10,000 GBP of grant money available to support you. Please break down below, if it is the case, what costs you would incur and you would need covered. (Please note that there are restrictions on how the grant money may be used; please refer to the T&Cs for further details.
If selected as a finalist, funding support would help cover staff time for participation in the programme, backfill delivery capacity, travel & subsistence for in person sessions, & additional evaluation & learning activities required to fully engage in the capacity building process. Participation in the 8-week capacity-building programme would add significant value to the delivery, sustainability & scalability of this initiative. As a small, delivery-led CIC, the primary barrier to participation is staff capacity & backfill, rather than motivation or readiness. If selected as a finalist, Catalyst in Communities would use any awarded capacity-building support funding solely for eligible, programme-related costs, in line with Go London T&Cs: Staff time & backfill (£6000) • Programme Lead / Senior Practitioner time to attend required sessions, workshops & mentoring • Backfill cover to ensure continuity of frontline delivery during programme participation Organisational development & learning (£2000) • Time to develop & embed monitoring, evaluation & learning systems • Translating programme learning into operational practice, governance & delivery models Partnership & scaling preparation (£1500) • Staff time to formalise partnership agreements with landowners & local authorities • Development of scalable delivery frameworks, toolkits & sustainability plans Travel & participation costs (£500) • Travel to required in-person sessions, meetings or site visits (where applicable) Total anticipated support required: up to £10,000. This support would enable full participation in the programme without diverting resources from delivery, ensuring the capacity-building investment directly strengthens long-term impact, sustainability & readiness to scale across London.
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