Today marked the beginning of an exciting programme of gambling-harm prevention education with Plymouth Argyle, as The Prevention Project delivered its first workshop to the club’s Under-18s.
Over the coming weeks, The Prevention Project will continue working with the Academy, delivering age-appropriate sessions across the age groups from the Under-18s, Under-17s and Under-16s, right down to the Under-14s.
The aim is simple: start the conversation early.
Gambling and sport are increasingly intertwined, and young people can be exposed to gambling advertising, sponsorship, betting content and the normalisation of gambling from an early age.
The Prevention Project believes prevention needs to happen before gambling-related harm becomes a crisis.
Today’s first session created an opportunity for the Under-18 players to have an honest conversation around gambling, the risks associated with it, how gambling can become harmful and, importantly, knowing where to turn if they ever need support.
At the centre of the workshop was lived experience, with The Prevention Project founder Macauley South sharing his own story and experiences of gambling harm.
Having grown up and gone to school in Plymouth, and having experienced a sporting environment himself as a young man, Macauley was able to speak to the players from a position they could relate to.
Mackenzie Brown, Head of Academy Player Care, said:
“Hearing from Mac, who not only lived a similar sporting life as a young man and had similar experiences, but lives and went to school in Plymouth, made it an incredibly relatable and powerful workshop for our Under-18s.
Mac’s story is hard-hitting and vulnerable and the boys took so much from his lived experience and we hope it has a positive and long lasting effect on them.”
For The Prevention Project, the response from the Academy highlights exactly why these conversations are so important.
This isn’t simply about telling young people “don’t gamble.”
It is about giving them the knowledge to understand the risks, recognise warning signs, challenge the normalisation of gambling and feel comfortable talking about it.
And today’s session is only the beginning.
Over the coming weeks, The Prevention Project will return to Plymouth Argyle Academy to work with the different age groups, adapting the content to ensure the conversations are appropriate, relevant and meaningful for each stage of the players’ development.
From the U18s through to the U14s, the focus remains firmly on prevention — helping young people understand gambling harm before they ever experience it themselves.
For Macauley, bringing The Prevention Project into a professional football academy in his home city is a particularly meaningful moment.
“If we can give even one young person the awareness to recognise a risk, or the confidence to speak up and ask for help, then these conversations are worth having.”
One session down. Many more to come.
We’re incredibly grateful to Plymouth Argyle Academy for welcoming The Prevention Project and giving us the opportunity to bring these conversations directly to its young players.
The Prevention Project x Plymouth Argyle Academy
Prevention. Education. Recovery.
We’re here to make a difference.
Macauley South
Founder & Director, The Prevention Project CIC