2024 PeacePlayers Impact Report FINAL-2 - Flipbook - Page 34
GAME CHANGER: HOW TWO
COACHES USED SPORTS TO
BREAK THE CYCLE OF
VIOLENCE
In Northern Ireland, sectarian divisions still shape much of daily life. From segregated
schools to divided neighborhoods, children inherit the con昀氀icts of the past before
they fully understand them. During periods of heightened tension and in response
to incidents of hate crimes and riots, PP-NI collaborated with the Policing and
Community Safety Partnerships (PCSP) in Belfast to deliver their ASB Reactive
Project. Recognising the need for practical, community-driven solutions, PCSP
identi昀椀ed local issues and invited PP-NI to join their efforts. Together, they visited
communities where unrest was brewing, offering an alternative to violence—sports.
This project was led by Marc Wilmot and Stu Bell from PeacePlayers, who made the
daily trip to a park in a high-interface area in North Belfast where Protestant and
Catholic children and teens often started 昀椀ghts with each other, throwing stones and
starting 昀椀res. Marc and Stu stepped in—not with authority, but with footballs and
rugby balls. At 昀椀rst, the kids were skeptical, even hostile. By the third week, the rival
groups weren’t just tolerating each other—they were playing on the same teams. “We
ended up having a football match with the kids, and that was taking them away from
a lot of the antisocial behavior,” shares Marc.
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