Mayor on The Starting Block: 'FCK take responsibility for the city and local community'

F.C. Copenhagen received Copenhagen's Employment Mayor and Denmark's Minister of Employment in Parken this week, to discuss the club's work with The Starting Block.

Since spring 2024, F.C. Copenhagen has taken active responsibility in The Starting Block (Startblokken), a national network of organisations that support unemployed 18-29-year-olds in entering the labour market or education.

On Monday, we were visited by Minister of Employment Kaare Dybvad Bek and the Municipality of Copenhagen's Employment Mayor Andreas Keil, who wanted to get an impression of our work in The Starting Block.

Different people require different help
The minister pointed to the challenge facing Danish society, where we have 45,000 young people who are neither in a job nor in education. And he believes that many different efforts are needed to solve this problem.

"All the companies and civil society organisations that we can get on board to solve this problem make a difference," said Kaare Dybvad Bek.

"It's fantastic. The municipality - or the public system in general - cannot solve this challenge on its own."

The process is different and takes longer than in the normal labour market system, but the minister does not see that as a problem.

"If it works, then it's okay that things take time," he said. "Those we meet here today are some who need to calmly approach things. When they are safe, they can be helped further.

“It's important to remember that we are dealing with very different people. Some require a long break-in period, and for others it takes less time. It is extremely important that we look at the individual person and understand their situation. And that is what I see today, in the success of this project.”

F.C. Copenhagen is making a difference
The municipality’s employment mayor Andreas Keil was pleased with the efforts that F.C. Copenhagen is making to help young people back into work and education.

“FCK has a strong brand in Copenhagen. And that makes a difference,” he said.

“When you change the framework for these young people a little, you get a big win. The club gets young people involved more – in a different way than when young people are placed at the job centre. And in this case, young people probably have more trust in FCK than in the municipality.

“It gives us some great opportunities, and it’s really great when FCK stands up and takes responsibility in this way – when they take responsibility for the city and the local community they are a part of.

“We all gain something from that. And that makes me genuinely happy. It has value in itself when young people gain faith in themselves and experience being in a place where they have been chosen to be.

“This is a confirmation that what we started almost two years ago is something right – that it is the right path. And it does something good for people – for young people."

Fact box about een our project manager since May 2024, and in May 2025 we further strengthened our efforts with the hiring of Celine Munk Petersen.