Inspector Andy George PSNI

I first heard of Kickoff@3 during the National Black Police Association Annual Conference in 2017. It sounded like a fantastic way of engaging with young people from different backgrounds.I spoke to a number of community groups in Belfast and held our first tournament in May 2018. It was a huge success and managed to bring people from diverse backgrounds together using football as a common bond.Michael and Ashley supported me in delivering the tournament and their presence during the day was influential in getting young people to speak to each other and the attending police officers.We have grown the programme each year and have now developed partnerships with the Irish FA, Rio Ferdinand Foundation and a number of community groups. We are now planning a community cohesion programme and have Kickoff@3 to thank for starting it all off.Inspector Andy George PSNI