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My home city of Birmingham is giving up on young people. Here’s how we can get it back on track | Ibraheem Mockbel

I remember when youth clubs and football pitches were full of laughter. Now Europe’s youngest city risks failing its youthIbraheem Mockbel is the winner of the 2025 Emerging Voices award (16-18 age category) recognising young talent in political opinion writingI was shaped by the environment I grew up in: the local community centre’s football club in Balsall Heath, Birmingham, which I joined aged seven, didn’t just teach me to score goals; it unearthed a passion I never knew I had. Coaches transformed dusty clearings into arenas of possibility, honing not only my athletic skills but my confidence.Yet over the past decade, lively streets, once filled with youth clubs, community football pitches and spaces where friendships blossomed over shared interests, have gradually been transformed into a landscape that feels neglected, even forsaken. The laughter that once echoed through sports halls has faded. Talking to younger relatives and peers reveals a clear picture: the opportunities that once defined our childhoods are vanishing at an astonishing rate.Ibraheem Mockbel is the winner of The Guardian Foundation’s 2025 Emerging Voices Awards (16-18 age category) recognising young talent in political opinion writing Continue reading...

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