95bFM Global football prisoner rehabilitation programme debuts in Aotearoa
6 March, 2026
Interview by Jasmine Gray, adapted by Chloe Porter
Sixteen prisoners from Kohuora Auckland South Corrections Facility have become the first New Zealand graduates of the Twinning Project. CEO Hilton Freund explains how the project uses football to support rehabilitation and reintegration.
The Twinning Project provides incarcerated people with the opportunity to gain a recognised football coaching certificate to support their reintegration into society. The programme was founded in the UK, where it had a successful eight-year run before debuting in Aotearoa.
Twinning Project CEO Hilton Freund told 95bFM’s The Wire that the project began from recognising the lack of action by professional football teams to support criminal rehabilitation. He says he launched the project with the intention “to offer upskilling and employability opportunities to those serving custodial sentences.”
Following the project’s eight-year success in the UK, Freund partnered with Auckland FC to launch it in Aotearoa with support from FIFA and the FIFA Foundation. 16 prisoners from Kohuora Auckland South Corrections Facility were the first to graduate from the project.
Freund says the UK and NZ programmes are transferable with the same content and skills learnt. Graduates complete coaching qualifications that Freund describes as the “first rung of the ladder towards football-based education.”
Beyond technical coaching skills, graduates learn and develop leadership, teamwork, and resilience; all qualities transferable to future employment. Freund says the programme also inspires its graduates, creating space for a future beyond prison, and helps to turn disengaged individuals into active participants in their communities.
Freund argues that successful rehabilitation begins with “identifying what turns the lights on” for individuals who have become unmotivated in life, education or work while incarcerated.
The need for employment pathways and support beyond prison is significant. A large proportion of prisoners enter custody without formal qualifications, so programmes that provide recognised certification help address this gap and raise employability.
Moving forward, the graduates have the opportunity to act as peer mentors and mentors to the two future cohort groups. Auckland FC has also committed to supporting graduates of the Twinning Project after their release.
Upon release, graduates retain access to ongoing mentorship and support from Auckland FC, which provides clear pathways into employment and helps them make productive life decisions as they reintegrate into society. It is opportunities such as this that aid in lowering low self-esteem, boredom and the lack of value prisoners feel from the low prospect of employment after release.
Freund concludes by highlighting the role of FIFA and the FIFA Foundation beyond their functions as football organisations.
“FIFA and the FIFA Foundation support a number of charities around the world,” he said, adding that their backing has enabled him to bring the Twinning Project to Auckland, “to the benefit of New Zealand and Auckland community and society.”
