The Aston Villa Foundation, in partnership with the Kaizen Foundation, has announced the successful progress of the Play it Forward programme, a community-focused initiative designed to tackle inequalities in physical activity and access to sports facilities in neighborhoods surrounding Villa Park.

Supported by the Premier League, the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), and Birmingham City Council, the programme is investing in the long-term sustainability of community-led sports spaces. As part of its delivery, Play it Forward will fund an additional 350 hours of physical activity on mini outdoor pitches across Birmingham, helping to create safer, more accessible environments for young people to engage in sport.

Expanding Community Sports Access Across Birmingham

Since its launch, the initiative has successfully established four community sports sites across the City of Birmingham. Working in collaboration with local partners Birmingham United, Spark Active, and Our Community Foundation, the programme is using football as a powerful tool to engage, inspire, and support young people in areas facing social and economic challenges.

The programme officially launched in October with two high-profile community events. Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans made a surprise visit to the Concord Youth Centre in Sparkbrook, while Aston Villa Women players Sabrina D’Angelo and Maya Hijikata visited the Birmingham Settlement Sports & Community Centre in Kingstanding. During these events, young participants took part in football activities, Q&A sessions, and discussions about the players’ journeys into professional sport.

Long-Term Support Beyond the Pitch

In addition to funding facilities and activity hours, the Aston Villa Foundation is providing extensive professional expertise to strengthen partner organisations. This support spans grants and fundraising, marketing and communications, governance, monitoring and evaluation, health and safety, safeguarding, and risk management, ensuring the programme delivers sustainable, measurable impact.

Siraj Hussain, Founder of Birmingham United Foundation, highlighted the importance of safe community spaces: “Sparkbrook is one of the most deprived areas in Birmingham, with young people struggling to access provisions and safe spaces to take part in sport. Bringing young people to a place like Concord Youth Centre, supported by trusted youth mentors, gives them the chance to be off the streets and engaged in something positive. Sport is an incredible engagement tool.”

Sport as a Catalyst for Youth Development

Panos Konstantopoulos, President of the Kaizen Foundation, emphasized the broader social value of the programme: “Access to sport is not a luxury; it is essential for youth development. It supports physical and mental wellbeing while fostering teamwork, respect, and healthy competition. Play it Forward creates opportunities for young people to channel their energy in ways that can be life-changing.”

Alison Mapp, CEO of Spark Active, also praised the initiative’s impact on grassroots football:
“We are committed to developing girls’ football and offering affordable, accessible sports provision in deprived areas. Many girls prefer community-based football over formal settings. Play it Forward has helped us strengthen our relationship with the Aston Villa Foundation and elevate our work. Their funding, equipment, coach mentoring, and player visits have taken our girls’ football programme to the next level.”

Building Sustainable Impact Through Football

The Play it Forward programme demonstrates how strategic partnerships between football foundations, charities, and local organisations can drive meaningful change. By improving access to facilities, investing in long-term community infrastructure, and using sport as a vehicle for inclusion, the initiative continues to make a lasting difference for young people across Birmingham.

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The French online sports betting market, often described as one of the most tightly regulated yet least dynamic in Europe, is preparing to welcome a surprising new entrant: Vibrez!. The operator secured regulatory approval and is now gearing up for launch, marking one of the few truly new brand arrivals in recent years.

Regulatory Approval and Market Entry
In 2025, Vibrez obtained an operating license from the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), under the authorization number 0063-PS-2025-05-15-AGR-00. The five-year renewable license covers only sports betting, with no authorization for poker or horse racing verticals.

At this stage, Vibrez’s website (www.vibrez.fr) is little more than a placeholder page. But the license approval signals the company’s commitment to entering France in 2026, timed closely with another newcomer, Bet365, which is in the process of getting its license just weeks later.

Who is Behind Vibrez?
The operator remains shrouded in mystery. Unlike market entrants backed by household names such as FDJ, Kindred, or Entain, Vibrez appears to be an independent French-facing brand.

The licensing application was submitted via BCFR, the same entity linked to brands like DAZN Bet, Circus Bet, and Vbet in France. This strongly suggests that BetConstruct, a B2B software and platform provider with experience powering multiple operators, is the technology backbone behind Vibrez.

While the corporate structure offers some clarity, Vibrez’s strategic positioning and long-term ambitions remain uncertain.

Branding and Market Positioning: Hints of Community?
Even the usually well-informed French website lebonparisportif.com, which monitor the iGaming market in France, cannot say much about what this new bookmaker will offer, but they wrote a few guesses about in an article in French (“Qui se cache derrière Vibrez?”) that we translate some key suggestions here:

According to them, the brand name “Vibrez” (French for “feel the thrill” or “vibrate”) and the teaser slogan “prépare-toi à vibrer” hint at a potentially community-driven or experience-focused positioning. This suggests Vibrez may experiment with new betting formats, perhaps inspired by simplified or binary-style markets such as “Yes/No” propositions, aiming to differentiate from more traditional sportsbook offerings.

The French market, while sizable, leaves little room for pure replication strategies. To gain traction against entrenched competitors like Winamax, Betclic, and ParionsSport (FDJ), Vibrez will need to bring innovation, either through product design, gamification, or marketing strategies that resonate with younger demographics.

The French Market: A Rare Case of New Entrants
The arrival of Vibrez is significant precisely because new operators are rare in France. DAZN Bet, is the most recent betting site launched in France.

With two brand launches expected before the end of 2026, observers anticipate a modest shake-up in an otherwise mature and concentrated market. Whether Vibrez will bring genuine disruption or simply serve as a niche challenger remains to be seen.

What Comes Next
Vibrez has yet to announce an official launch date, though industry insiders expect the platform to go live in 2026, probably before the World Cup this summer, which should be a highlight in the sports betting world this year. Welcome bonuses are likely to follow the French market standard, capped at €100 in free bets due to ANJ’s strict promotional guidelines.

Until then, Vibrez represents one of the most intriguing mysteries in French iGaming: a brand with no legacy, no major international parent, but potentially bold ambitions to “make the market vibrate.”

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