Former England rugby player Luther Burrell has a mission: to unlock the potential of young people through sport.
Cheshire-based Luther has launched the 12 Foundation and has plans to grow the organisation across the UK and, ultimately, globally.
Luther was the special guest at the recent Inspire Business Circle event at Chester Rugby Club and, later, took time to chat with Inspire Cheshire.
He wants as many young people as possible, aged 12-18 and from underserved communities, to have the life opportunities that he has enjoyed, something that was made possible because of his introduction to the game of rugby.
Luther, 37, says: “I grew up in Huddersfield in a working-class family where life wasn’t always easy, but my family did an incredible job. Like a lot of families, we faced our challenges, but what changed everything for me was rugby.
“Rugby was the transformative power. It gave me structure, identity and belief. It taught me discipline, resilience and how to handle pressure, not just on the pitch, but in life.
“When I was still playing, the thing I enjoyed the most were the opportunities to go into the community, to schools and hospitals. These experiences really pulled on my emotions and I came alive. I could see myself in many of these children and they could relate to me and my story.
“After I stopped playing, I did a bit of work with the 100 World Legends organisation as well as some philanthropy in India and some charitable work in the Middle East.
“I came back wanting to continue having this kind of impact and influence and this led me to start thinking about what ultimately became the 12 Foundation.”
Luther, who played 15 times for England as well as for club sides including Northampton Saints, Newcastle, Leeds and Sale Sharks, gave a lot of thought to the naming of the Foundation.
Rather than using his own name, he focused on the number 12, a number significant not just because it was his shirt number but for many other reasons too.
Luther says: “It’s the number that has always seemed to follow me around. I was born in the 12th month, it’s my lucky number and in rugby, the No 12 is the vital link: the connector between attack and defence, power and precision, structure and instinct.”
The Foundation’s stated mission over the next six years is to connect with 1,200 schools across the UK, reach 12,000 young people aged 12-18, deliver 12,000 nutritional packs and provide 1,200 sports kits and equipment.
Luther wants the Foundation’s impact to include improvements in confidence, school attendance, physical health and community connection.
Even though the Foundation is less than six months old, he is pleased with progress and can already cite case studies where he believes they are making a difference.
Luther says: “We visited Capenhurst Rugby Club and we could not have picked a better club. It is a real grassroots set-up where the coaches are passionate about what they are doing. You could sense just how important rugby is to the children and the parents. It was fantastic to spend quality time with them. I told them to dream big, work hard and to never stop believing in themselves.
“I also did some work recently with some young people in London who had never come across rugby before. They had no idea who I was and started asking me all sorts of questions about my background and what rugby had given me. I was therefore so pleased to get a phone call a few days later to be told one young man who had great natural ability had been so inspired that he had gone and found a local rugby club to join.
“This is exactly what I want 12 Foundation to be about, giving people a reason to believe it is possible, to show them someone who’s lived it and to remind them that their background doesn’t have to define their outcome.”
Luther cites the Lost Boys report, published earlier this year by the Centre for Social Justice, which detailed how “boys and young men are in crisis” across so many areas including education, employment, crime and home life.
Since the pandemic alone, the number of young males who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) has increased by a staggering 40 per cent. Meanwhile, school exclusions are on the rise with boys over twice as likely to be excluded as girls.
So far, Luther has had good engagement with the Earl of Chester’s Fund and various Cheshire businesses and private individuals.
He says: “Getting the Foundation off the ground took a lot of time and there was a lot to do from a regulatory point of view. It’s also been a traumatic year as I lost my dad and sister, but the birth of my son and working on the Foundation helped with the healing process.
“We’ve got so many exciting plans in the pipeline including our gala dinner in Chester on December 4th when we will be celebrating our successes to date and getting all our ambassadors together.
“I’m proud of what we have done in getting the Foundation going and grateful for all the support we have received in Cheshire and elsewhere. I’ve had some good conversations about taking the Foundation into Wales, leaning into some of my rugby connections there.
“Rugby gave me so many fundamentals as a young man growing up. Leadership, communication, camaraderie, getting up and going again. I don’t think there is a better sport for instilling these kind of disciplines and life lessons. I can’t wait to take the Foundation into more communities over the coming weeks and months.”
