Powering the Next Generation: Why we’re continuing to back Kids In Sport

There is a tendency to talk and think about children’s sport as though it exists in a sealed world of scoreboards, PE lessons and weekend games.  

But the most important outcomes – from confidence to curiosity, teamwork, resilience and the ability to solve problems as a team – are often scored far from any pitches or matches. 

These are not simply sporting qualities – they are economic, civic and human ones. 

That is exactly why our support remains for young people, through many initiatives, from apprentice schemes to our Kids in Sport programme. 

Our support also sits naturally within E.ON’s wider mission: to make new energy work for everyone. 

As one of the UK’s largest energy suppliers and infrastructure providers, currently serving more than five million households and over 370,000 businesses, E.ON’s work reaches far beyond energy bills and power networks. 

We are a leading part of a broader national transition – one requiring not only new technology and cleaner infrastructure, but new skills, new pathways into work and a generation equipped to participate in a lower-carbon economy which is already facing a major green skills deficit. 

That transition will not be built solely in boardrooms, universities or laboratories.  

It begins much earlier than that. 

It begins in schools, playgrounds and community spaces where children first discover what they are capable of. 

Over the past three years, the Kids in Sport initiative has travelled across the UK, combining sport with practical workshops in science, technology, sustainability, coding, communications and first aid.  

Football drills sit alongside renewable energy challenges. 

Tennis coaching with the likes of Judy Murray – pictured above and below at one of our latest Kids in Sport events in Scotland – shares space with STEM activities and training for future job skills.  

Children are introduced not only to the idea of different careers, but to the wider industries that support them – including engineering, sustainability, design, technology and communications.

The principle behind the programme could not be more straightforward: children engage more deeply when learning feels active, collaborative and connected to the real world. 

For example, at St Patrick’s Primary School in Inverclyde earlier this year, pupils participated in coding workshops, sustainability games and sports activities led by tennis coach Judy and her team.  

In Birmingham, children at Leigh Primary School recently combined football exercises with STEM learning, reaction testing and sports-kit design challenges.  

An event in Coventry saw pupils explore sustainability simulations and coding labs inside the CBS Arena while learning about the role energy and technology play across modern sport. 

And last month, we brought our Kids in Sport programme to Cardiff’s Springwood Primary School, transforming an ordinary day for pupils into an energetic showcase of football, broadcasting, STEM and sustainability designed to open young minds to the vast career opportunities that exist beyond the touchline.

From cycle-powered racing cars and football drills to CPR workshops and coding challenges, the initiative blended sport with science, media and clean energy – giving Year 5 and 6 pupils a hands-on glimpse into the industries and innovations shaping the future of modern sport.

Marking the programme’s first stop in Wales, the event was hailed by teachers and organisers alike as a powerful way to inspire confidence, curiosity and ambition among children preparing for the leap to secondary school and the wider world beyond it.

The events show that at E.ON, we really are committed to the need for investment in inclusive green skills and future careers.  

As Sport England’s 2025 Active Lives Children and Young People Survey Report highlights, children from less affluent backgrounds remain less likely to be active, while girls continue to participate at lower rates than boys.  

And more than half of children are still not active enough.

Sport England – the executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which is responsible for developing grassroots sport and increasing activity levels across England – states active children demonstrate higher resilience, stronger mental wellbeing and improved trust within communities.  

The argument here is not that sport alone transforms lives.  

It is that environments built around encouragement, inclusion and participation can alter how young people see themselves – and what they believe is possible for their, and their country’s, future. 

In an economy increasingly shaped by decarbonisation, digital skills and technological change, that belief really matters. 

Britain’s transition to cleaner energy will require engineers, technicians, coders, communicators, sustainability specialists and skilled tradespeople from all over the country.

As Scott Somerville, Director of External Affairs at E.ON UK, has said about the Kids in Sport initiative: “We are very proud of this programme that spotlights careers on the pitch and inspires children with the related roles that enable the creation of sporting magic and memories – including energy engineers, designers, sustainability specialists, communications professionals and technicians.” 

We’re committed to investing in young people – and are proud to have won a place in the Top 10 of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2026 awards for the second year in a row.

It is the latest in a series of long-standing recognitions for the company’s commitment to diversity, inclusion and colleague wellbeing – with the company also Highly Commended in the Best Places to Work for Women category, recognising our continued focus on widening opportunity, supporting progression and creating a workplace where women can thrive, regardless of their background or stage of their career. 

For more on our Kids in Sport initiatives, click here.