Established by Rio Ferdinand in 2012, the Rio Ferdinand Foundation is a youth and community development charity set up to address Rio’s lived experiences of inequality growing up in South London.

The Rio Ferdinand Foundation works in the heart of the UK and Ireland’s most disadvantaged communities, creating opportunities for young people to empower equality, drive social change and realise their potential.

Since we began, the Foundation has powered the potential of over 15,000 marginalised young people creating opportunities and pathways across sports, media, technology, and the arts.

We deliver under four strategic pillars of work:

- Safe Spaces for young people: Whether face to face in a sport or community setting or delivering digitally, our sessions create a level playing field for young people, one where they can
feel comfortable in their own skin and can explore their individual identities, issues and needs.

- Supporting health and wellbeing: Our work with young people is geared towards developing positive lifestyles, building good emotional health and well-being, and strengthening resilience. We encourage all young people to understand how to support their physical and mental health and
wellbeing as well as their peers.

- Inclusive Communities: We support young people and their communities, to deliver social action programmes tackling inequality. Our issue-based work addresses youth crime and violence, substance misuse, and youth loneliness, and improves community cohesion, to build a more equitable society.

- Progression Pathways: - Our training, skills and careers programmes allow young people to develop transferable skills, access employment pathways and achieve their potential. We focus on partnerships which help create opportunities and connections and prepare young people
for the emerging job market.