"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 over 15,000 marginalised young people creating opportunities and pathways across sports, media, technology, and the arts.

We are:
Youth-led: Young people are the heart of everything we do, inspiring us to evolve and adapt, so we can support them to realise their potential.
Empowering: Enabling young people to recognise their skills, giving them ownership to achieve their individual goals.
Connecting: Bringing young people, their communities, and our partnerships together; valuing diversity and creating a shared sense of belonging.
Resilient: Bouncing back with enthusiasm and fresh solutions, continually learning, and taking the time to actively ‘listen’ and respond to the world in which we work.
Courageous: With a ‘can-do’, open, supportive, and honest approach- we are not afraid to do things differently."