The Bristol Rovers Community Department will be embarking on a new project, thanks to funding from the Football Foundation.

Rovers will be trying to reduce issues of youth crime in key Bristol areas, by involving young people aged 14-21 in community football projects.

The Community Department will be working in partnership with the Second Chance Project and the Active Communities Network to reach out to young people across Bristol to try and reduce the risk of young offending, and the fear of crime amongst the greater population.

Rovers have been awarded just under £150,000 to set up the PACT project, which stands for Personal Attainment and Community Training.

The cheque was presented to the club at the Memorial Stadium at half time during the Southampton match last week, and new Football League Chairman Greg Clarke helped the community department receive the money.

From left to right: Peter Aitken (Community Manager), James Mapstone (2nd Chance Project), Ken Masters (Community Director), John Moody (Community Coach), Stephen Williams (Bristol West MP), Nick Higgs (Rovers Chairman), Greg Clarke (Football League Chairman), Richard Leahy (Active Communities Network) and Kuljit Randhawa (Football Foundation).

The project came about after a conversation between Community Manager, Peter Aitken, and the Second Chance Project.

Peter said: "This project will involve very positive work in our local community. We will get to work with a lot of young people face to face, which will hopefully enable us to better understand their needs and frustrations.

"Hopefully we can give them the tools and the guidance to improve things in their own lives, and benefit their local communities by becoming role models for other young people in the area.

"We are hoping to encourage participation in sporting events and increase inclusion in grass roots sport.

"We look forward to working with these young people, hopefully we can teach them some skills to help them to improve their lives."

The scheme will aim to address issues of youth crime, especially weapons related crime, using football to help create more inclusive communities.

Rovers' community team will also be working with other crime prevention agencies to help reduce anti-social behaviour and improve school attendance and performance amongst the young people taking part.

Chelsea and Crystal Palace both run successful PACT projects, and James Mapstone from Second Chance Project wanted to replicate the work of the London clubs here in Bristol.

He said: "The London clubs have done some great work, and I wanted to see that happening in Bristol. We already have a relationship with Bristol Rovers, so they were ideal to help us carry this out.

"The young people who sign up for the PACT project will be able to access a range of different courses and projects, and football is an important brand to engage them and get them interested.

"The project aims to be an alternative to hanging around the streets, giving the young people something to do and providing them with skills. The relationships and respect they develop for the football coaches allows us to interact better with them and work with them to reduce anti-social behaviour."

Rovers have received funding for three years, and will be seeking to build on a pilot project that they have already been running in Patchway. The first year will see projects in four venues across Bristol, with many other groups hoping to become involved.

The project will run alongside other schemes currently being provided by the Community Department, including the Extra Time project, which provides regular sporting activity for older people and people with dementia.

The Extra Time project, which is supported by Sport Relief and the Football Foundation, has been running successfully for several months, and supports the group in a range of physical, mental and social activities.

To learn more about Rovers' Football in the Community scheme please click here or on the logo below.