Street League, the football charity for deprived youngsters, celebrates its tenth year Over the decade of its existence, working in 12 British cities, this charity has achieved eye-opening results. This year, 81 per cent of the several hundred 18-25-year-olds who completed its eight-week training programme have gone on to find a job or a place in education. Young people who have been almost entirely abandoned by the existing system, failed at every turn, are, on a weekly basis, being converted into active citizens. And how is it done? Through the simple lure of football. The charity's staff scour job centres, shopping malls and parks looking for unemployed young men and women who are in need of a lift. They offer them a game and once they have started to play, they give them the chance to sign up for a course to help them gain employment. Lads such as James, who, at 22, admitted he was sinking into perpetual lethargy. Unemployed and with his confidence stripped from him, he was festering on benefits, his hope and prospects disappearing. A keen footballer, he even found his game suffering; he did not have the energy or wherewithal to kick a ball around any more. There, in the home of the world and European champions, the government has just introduced a bill to ban football anywhere near the street. Called the Citizens" Security Law, designed to curb wider civil disobedience, the bill outlaws "the practice of games or sporting activity in spaces not designed for this." Anyone found kicking a ball down the street will face a fine of between €100 and €1,000 (£82-£820). One of the most exciting matches I have ever seen was in Soweto during the last World Cup, where a pick-up game of some 15-a-side was taking place on a crossroads. The truth is, we need to be encouraging more informal opportunities, where things can be tried out in a relaxed manner. We should be helping our kids more to play in the street or park again, unrestricted by adult supervision, free from the pressure of parents or coaches. In this country, our government should be seeking to provide more opportunities to play pick-up games for nothing with finance provided by Premier League clubs.