In the UK, reoffending costs an estimated £18 billion, contributes to prison overcrowding, and places immense pressure on the criminal justice system, public services, and affected communities. The need for evidence-based rehabilitation approaches has never been greater.
The Twinning Project is a football-based charity that partners prisons with their local professional football clubs. The project offers accredited coaching qualifications and structured group activities that aim to build confidence, new skills, and social connection among people serving custodial or community sentences. In the UK, most participants complete a Football Association accredited qualification. As part of this training, they also play football and participate in other physical activity.
Dr Martha Newson, Associate Professor in Psychology at the University of Greenwich, leads the research into the effectiveness of this approach and explores how it can be further strengthened. Working in collaboration with Dr Linus Peitz from the University of Greenwich, Professor Harvey Whitehouse from the University of Oxford, and other partners, the team has drawn together one of the largest datasets ever created for a prison sports-based intervention, spanning more than 70 football clubs and prison sites across the UK.
Improving behaviour, reducing reoffending
The Twinning Project research was launched with two key aims: to evaluate the real-world impact of the programme on prisoner behaviour and reoffending, and to understand how group identities and social cohesion can be harnessed for social good. This research has been grounded in longitudinal data shared by HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), analysing behavioural patterns, social identities, wellbeing, and attitudes over time.
The findings show that sports-based interventions delivered via the Twinning Project significantly improved participant behaviour, as well as improving wellbeing. Additionally, the research showed that women have distinct needs within sports interventions that must be addressed for optimal outcomes.
This work resulted in the publication of multiple articles, and the scale of this evidence fills a major knowledge gap: How to design socially informed interventions that reduce reoffending and improve behaviour in secure settings and resettlement processes.
Social cohesion and impact beyond prisons
This research identifies a key mechanism – namely social cohesion – through which sports-based interventions can improve behaviour in prison settings. The impact of these findings extends beyond secure settings, most notably to policymakers, the wider football community, and the general public who directly or indirectly interact with the criminal justice system.
Engaging policymakers
The research team shared comprehensive reports outlining findings and recommendations with the Minister of Justice and all participating prison governors, including a series of practical suggestions. The team also hosted a high-profile event at the Royal Society in October 2024, attended by the Minister of Justice, Twinning Project leaders, HMPPS officials, and football representatives including the Chair of the FA. The Twinning Project was also presented to the United Nations, the American Corrections Association and the International Corrections and Prisons Association, referencing this research. Additionally, the work was referenced at the 2025 Correctional Research Symposium in Belfast, at which Dr Peitz presented and Hilton Freund MBE (Global Chief Executive of the Twinning Project) moderated.
Impact on the football community
The research team trained football coaches and prison officers in integrating evaluation into their practice for social good. They also shared the research report, an engaging animation and posters for display within prisons and football clubs across the UK. This encouraged participants and staff to engage with the findings in non-academic spaces, increasing awareness of the project amongst football communities nationwide. Senior figures from the Football Association and Premier League attended the Royal Society event, further increasing the project reach across football spaces.
Impact on public understandings of reoffending
This research has enormous potential to raise awareness and shape public understandings of evidence-based solutions to reoffending. The work has been featured on BBC Radio 4 and highlighted in an article for The Conversation, providing readers and listeners with fresh perspectives on solutions to deep-rooted, real-world problems. In time, its influence has the potential to extend beyond direct beneficiaries, to the families, friends and local communities of participants whose lives have been impacted by reoffending.
The Twinning Project has now expanded globally, obtaining funding from Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and American funders. Subsequently, the research team are now leading evaluations for this expansion, starting in Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil.
For more information, visit the Twinning Project website and follow on LinkedIn.
