Global Football Prisoner Rehabilitation Programme debuts in Aotearoa w/ Twinning Project CEO Hilton Freund: February 26, 2026

This year, The Twinning Project debuted its pilot programme in Aoteaora. The global initiative offers incarcerated persons the opportunity to upskill by obtaining football coaching qualifications over the course of six weeks.

The near-end-of-term certification is paired with supported rehabilitative pathways to involvement in community and sport, including employment opportunities upon release. 

The first cohort of 16 inmates graduated in Tāmaki Makurau last week, delivered in partnership with local organisations Auckland FC and Kohuora Auckland South Corrections Facility.

Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Hilton Freund, Global CEO of The Twinning Project, who was in Aotearoa to visit the first round of graduates last week.

She started by asking him to tell us a bit about the project, which began in the UK in 2018.