2015 - EFL Trust

Paul Jubb: BBC Sports Personality Unsung Hero

19th December 2015/in Inclusion, News, Sport /by EFL Trust

Bradford Disability Football Club’s Paul Jubb says it’s an amazing feeling for the club to receive recognition, with the head coach collecting the BBC Sport Unsung Hero award for Yorkshire.
Jubb started the team, which is a partner of Bradford City Community Foundation, in 2001 with only 10 players, but he now works with 150 members of varying ages and disabilities.

He was nominated for the award by Steve Parr, a volunteer and father of one of the players, and Jubb says it was an ‘amazing feeling’.

WATCH: BBC Sport – Football coach wins Yorkshire award

“I went to the live show at the BBC [Look North Yorkshire] as they told me I was one of four nominees, but I’d actually won it,” he told football-league.co.uk.

“It’s more about recognition for the the disability club than myself. I like to raise the profile; with the hope of getting more sponsors, volunteers and players. But obviously it’s nice to be recognised for what you do.

“The best thing about the programme we run is that the players get to build their self-confidence, make friends, and they all love being involved with Bradford City – it’s their lives, just like it is mine.

“Football is a great way of socialising and being part of a group with a sense of identity. We just completed a register and we’ve now got 150 members.

“We’re looking to perhaps increase our facilities and put on some extra sessions in the evenings and at the weekends. We never turn anybody away, whatever their disability or age, and want to keep growing.”

Now in its 13th year, the BBC Sport Get Inspired Unsung Hero award celebrates people from around the UK who volunteer their time and effort in encouraging the talents of others, and whose work enables local clubs and groups to thrive and flourish.

A winner was chosen in each of the BBC’s 15 nations and English regions, with those men and women joining sporting icons at the 2015 BBC Sports Personality of the Year event in Belfast on Sunday, where an overall winner will be revealed.

Ian Ormondroyd, Bradford City Community Foundation manager, reserved praise for head coach Jubb and believes Bradford City are proud of their disability club.

He said: “The players come to the club and feel welcomed, and are able to enjoy themselves, being part of a group that’s very inclusive and very friendly. All the parents get on and the atmosphere is brilliant.

“They play in a disability league but it’s more than just football as they go away on trips all the time. In all, they get to do all the things a normal footballer would – probably more, in fact!

“The players get to go on the pitch at half-time at Valley Parade two or three times a year, and the fans like that.

“Instead of going to get a pie or a pint, supporters tend to stay out and watch the disability club on the pitch, cheering them on. That’s very encouraging for the players – they have a great time.

“It would be great for Paul to win the overall award, but it’s not the be-all and end-all. It’s not about winning – the fact he has been nominated and the club has been recognised is fantastic.”

England Star Supports the ‘Old Girls’

15th December 2015/in FFD, News /by EFL Trust

England and Arsenal midfielder Jordan Nobbs paid a visit to Crawley Town COGs last week to see how group of older ladies have been bitten by the football bug.

The Crawley Old Girls (COGS) are a group of older women, mainly Crawley Fans and football mums who missed out playing football when they were younger as the opportunities didn’t exist.

More than 20 ladies were in attendance to show off their skills in the latest weekly get-together, showing its never too late to join the female football revolution.

Jordan, who recently won her 24^th England cap in the 1-0 win over Bosnia in a European Championship qualifier said: “I think it is great to encourage more people in the women’s game. The last few years have been massive and obviously the World Cup this year when England finished third was a big inspiration to the women’s game.

“The more support that we get and the more we stick together and really put women’s football out there on the map, I think the more people are going to get involved.”

The COGs sessions have been so successful that other clubs are following Crawley Town’s lead and the initiative has also attracted financial support from the Football League Trust. The League’s Female Football Development Officer Nicole Meredith also attended Monday’s session.

Amy said: “It was fantastic to welcome Jordan and show her how successful COGs has become.

“She played for England the day before but stayed for two hours and the girls enjoyed having an England player in their session.

“The girls had a fantastic night and I’d like to thank Jordan, the FA and the Football League Trust for helping to make it such a success.”

COGs sessions normally take place on Thursdays from 6.15pm. For more details call Amy on 01293 410000 or email [email protected]

New National Futsal Competition Launched by Ferrero and the Football League Trust

25th November 2015/in Inclusion /by EFL Trust

Exciting national schools Futsal competition launches this month

The Kinder + Sport Futsal Cup, part of Ferrero’s global Kinder + Sport project, is a new schools competition for Under 16 Boys and Girls run by the Football League Trust. Local competitions, organised by Football League Clubs throughout England and Wales, will kick off this month seeing thousands of Year 10 and 11 students battle it out to represent their local club at area and then regional finals.

The aim of Ferrero’s global Kinder + Sport project is to increase levels of physical activity among young generations around the world. The Kinder + Sport Futsal Cup builds on the success of last year’s Kinder + Sport Kids Cup for under 11s and Kinder + Sport Girls Cup for under 13s, also delivered by Ferrero and the Football League Trust.

Mike Evans, Director of Operations with the Football League Trust comments: “Last year, by working with Ferrero, we increased participation in the Football League’s Kids and Girls Cup by over 20% with over 20,000 children taking part. This year the aim is to use the same model and momentum to deliver the Kinder + Sport Futsal Cup and increase sports participation among 15-16 year olds, which is an age where we often see participation levels dropping off.”

A Ferrero spokesperson said: “At Ferrero, we believe that active children are more likely to grow into active adults, and so we are passionate about inspiring future generations to embrace physical exercise, and gain a sense of joy from living an active life. The success of last year’s Kinder + Sport Kids Cup and Kinder + Sport Girls Cup has inspired us to extend our programme to a much wider age group. By targeting 15-16 year olds, we want to encourage adolescents to utilise what they have learnt in order to lead a more active lifestyle right the way through to adulthood. The programme will reach approximately 15,000 young people.”

Futsal, the world’s fastest growing indoor sport, showcases close ball skills, increased touches, quick decision making, creativity and tactical nous. Some of the world’s leading football stars, such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, honed their ball skills with futsal. The free flowing game has witnessed significant growth throughout England and Wales over recent years, as a sport in its own right, and as a fundamental part of football development.

Kinder + Sport and the Football League Trust have been key players in the world of futsal over recent years, creating memories of a lifetime for young people. Kinder + Sport sponsored the 2014 ISF Futsal World Championships in Sardinia, and The Football League Trust spearheaded Sky Sports’ Soccer AM Futsal Cup over the last two seasons.
The partnership between Ferrero and the Football League Trust has also seen football clubs throughout the UK delivering the + Sport Move and Learn Project. The programme is designed to get children active, promote nutritional education and build awareness of the importance of a balanced diet and active lifestyle. Clubs have been teaming up with primary schools in their area to deliver the project to 9-10 year olds, with each session combining 45 minutes of classroom based learning and 45 minutes of physical activity over a 6 week period.

The project reached more than 21,000 children in 2014/15 and aims to reach 31,600 children across the UK and Ireland this year. To support the programme, club players act as ambassadors and participating schools have the chance to meet players and be involved in match day activities such as half time penalty shoot outs.

About Kinder + Sport

Kinder + Sport is a responsible global project developed by Ferrero Group aimed at supporting physical activity among young generations.

As one of the Company’s core CSR pillars, the programme is designed to promote active lifestyles by encouraging dynamic play and sports among children and their families and stimulating them to make physical activity a regular part of their lives.
ABOUT FERRERO
Present in the UK since 1966, Ferrero is a leading family-owned global company. Ferrero’s brand portfolio includes: nutella; 400g is the UK’s No.1 selling spread SKU[1]; Ferrero Rocher, the UK’s no.2 classic boxed chocolate brand[2]; tic tac, the no.5 pocket confectionery brand [3]; Kinder Surprise, the no.3 kids confectionery[4] brand; and Kinder Bueno, a top 10 countline brand[5]. These unique and iconic brands are well-loved throughout the UK, and the success of these brands is based on quality products which are carefully crafted and supported with heavyweight investment, that not only deliver great tastes for customers, but also deliver great profits for retailers.
Ferrero UK is a dynamic, progressive company, fusing modern, innovative approaches with its rich confectionery heritage. Its leading position in confectionery markets in mainland Europe underpins the commitment to succeed in the competitive UK market.

Bradford Coach Wins BBC Sport’s Unsung Hero

24th November 2015/in Inclusion, News /by EFL Trust

A coach whose work has enabled hundreds of children and adults with disabilities to play football has been recognised by the BBC for his work.

Paul Jubb from the Bradford Disability Football Club has collected BBC Sport’s Unsung Hero award for the Yorkshire region for his work as head coach of the team which is a partner of Bradford City FC Community Foundation.

Paul started the team in 2001 with just 10 players and now works with over 130 boys, girls, men and women ranging from six to 55 years old. The club has over 10 teams which are often given the opportunity at Valley Parade before Bradford City’s home games.

Steve Parr, a volunteer and father of one of the players, nominated Paul.
He said: “Paul is one of the most inspirational guys I’ve ever met. Having a son, Martin, with learning difficulties, I know how difficult it is. Martin spends a lot of time on his own, with very little friends and this has given him a new lease of life.”

Paul will join other winner from around the country at the BBC’s prestigious Sport Personality of the Year Award on December 20th at Belfast when the national winner will be announced.

You can find about more about Paul’s Work on the BBC Video

#IWill Football Clubs Support Youth Social Action

23rd November 2015/in Inclusion, NCS, News /by EFL Trust

Football League Clubs across the country, through their community trusts are sharing their pledge of support to #iwill, the national campaign promoting youth social action.

This week the Community Trusts will be celebrating #iwill week, marking the 2nd anniversary of the #iwill campaign for youth social action and is calling on other organisations to join them. Through the Football League Trust the clubs have pledged to support this growing movement that aims to make involvement in social action part of life for more 10-20 year-olds around the UK. Youth social action is defined as ‘young people taking practical action in the service of others to create positive change’ and includes activities such as campaigning, fundraising and volunteering.

Football clubs have been very successful at engaging young people. For example around 40 Clubs deliver the Government’s National Citizen Service (NCS) which helps a young person’s transition to becoming adult by building confidence, teaching crucial life skills and getting then involved in projects that make a difference to their community. This year over 8,000 15-17 year olds, on NCS with Football League Clubs, have taken part in over 200,000 hours of social action projects to improve their communities.

2015 Cabinet Office research produced compelling evidence that young people who take part in social action develop key character and employability skills. It follows on from this that involvement creates a double-benefit, strengthening communities and enhancing the skills of young participants.

Charlotte Hill, CEO of the charity running the #iwill campaign says: “We are delighted that The Football Clubs have pledged to support our work, and is sharing their progress during #iwill week to inspire others to take part also. If we are to make involvement in social action the norm for 10-20 year-olds we need partners to commit to tangible actions just as they are doing. The involvement of the Football League Trust will undoubtedly help us progress towards our goal.’

Working with business, education and voluntary sector partners, the campaign aims to ensure that all young people can access social action opportunities, whatever their background. The #iwill goal is to raise by 50% the number of 10-20 year-olds taking part in social action by 2020, which will mean an additional 1.5 million young people will be active in their communities.

Welcome to Our New Website

20th November 2015/in News /by EFL Trust

The Football League Trust brings together the community trusts associated with the 72 Football League Clubs.

Between them the community trusts invest over £44million on projects in their community under four key themes sport, education, inclusion and health to ensure football is a catalyst for positive change in many different ways.

Mike Evans, Director of Operations at the Football League Trust, comments, “Clubs are based in the heart of their communities and have a reach that enables them to engage with over 1.5 million people each year.”

“Importantly the new website celebrates the work of the community trusts, whilst they are well known for their traditional role of increasing participation in sports, they are also running projects that are tackling big issues such as childhood obesity, dementia, heart disease and anti-social behaviour.”

Site Developed & Maintained by SEO Strategy

DWP and Fulham teaming up to tackle unemployment

19th November 2015/in Inclusion, News /by EFL Trust

Football clubs should team up with the Government and help their unemployed fans find work, Employment Minister Priti Patel said today.

The Minister issued the challenge during a visit to Fulham Football Club today, to see how their vital community outreach work is helping to score the Government’s goal of getting hard-to-reach jobseekers into employment.
Fulham Football Club Foundation and the DWP are working together with funding and support from the Premier League to help the long-term unemployed and 16-25 year olds not in education, employment or training (NEETS) build their employability skills and find permanent jobs

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The event, which was organised by the Football League Trust and hosted by Fulham at its ground, Craven Cottage, was designed to share best practice with other clubs and organisations, including Nottingham Forest, Blackburn Rovers and Charlton Athletic.

Employment Minister Priti Patel said:
“Employment is at a record high, unemployment is at a seven-year low and wages are continuing to grow, but we are not stopping there.

“Football clubs are much-loved institutions in the heart of their communities and are ideally placed to help their local fans find lasting jobs.”

“Our Jobcentres are teaming up with organisations like Fulham Football Club Foundation across the country to help people overcome barriers and move closer to employment.

“Now, I want to challenge more clubs to follow Fulham’s lead. That’s why I am supporting the Football League Trust’s push to get more clubs to develop traineeship programmes, and help us get more people into work.”The DWP is contributing £30,000 to help Fulham Football Club Foundation continue its outreach work helping people into work.

The cash, which came from the DWP’s Flexible Support Fund, is part-funding the Foundation’s Fulham Work Hub. This scheme is building on the work of My Future Goal, which for three years concentrated on helping NEETS aged 16 to 25 into work.

Fulham Work Hub, which kick-started in January, is enhancing that offer by helping older workers, lone parents and disabled jobseekers – as well as young people – the necessary skills they need to find work, after they’ve been referred by the Jobcentre Plus.

Fulham Football Club Foundation Chief Executive, Steven Day, said:
“Fulham Football Club Foundation is delighted to welcome the Employment Minister and guests from a number of football clubs to Craven Cottage today, to showcase the success of our Employability programme.
“We were generously supported by Barclays for our three-year programme which ended in January and provided exceptional results. Our new Fulham Work Hub programme is supported by the Premier League and funds from the DWP will allow us to continue to work with local unemployed young people further. This will enable us to assist participants in developing their employability skills for opportunities in education, employment or training in the future.”

The Football League Trust wants to recruit other clubs to follow Fulham’s example in supporting young people in jobs. It is about to launch a 12-week traineeship programme to help jobseekers build their employability skills in a sports’ setting with the aim of helping them into employment, an apprenticeship or fulltime education. This is being piloted in 12 clubs across England, with the aim of rolling it out to 40 clubs in 2016. Around 1,000 young people are expected to make the step into the world of work as a result of this initiative who might otherwise have fallen into the NEET category.

Football League Trust Director of Operations, Mike Evans said:
“Our network of 72 football community trusts has a strong record in delivering education and employment initiatives over many years. The unique ability of football clubs to engage young people is a huge factor in this, but it requires professional organisations such as Fulham Football Club Foundation to inspire people to fulfil their potential. We are delighted the Minister has been able to join us today to see the fantastic work that Fulham are doing to tackle unemployment and help us to roll employment programmes out throughout The Football League Trust network.”

NCS Grimsby – The Pride of their Community

18th November 2015/in NCS, News /by EFL Trust

Young People from Grimsby Town are celebrating after being nominated for a ‘Pride in the Community Award’ in recognition of their work in the community whilst taking part in the youth empowerment programme, National Citizen Service (NCS).

NCS is delivered by the Football League Trust across the Yorkshire and Humber region – a two-three week programme for 16 & 17 year olds during which participants learn skills for work and life, take on new challenges, meet new friends and contribute to their local community.

The 30 graduates from the NCS programme chose to complete their social action project at St Andrew’s Hospice, providing relief to patients of the hospice suffering from life-limiting illnesses. The children of the Hospice requested for a beach themed garden because they couldn’t get there like their friends can!

The complete facelift of the garden included the painting of a seaside inspired Wendy house, stepping stones, a pirate shaped sand pit and a water play area.

Funds to transform the garden were raised through a cake stall selling home baked items, and a charity car wash that was opposite the Hospice. As well as that materials were kindly donated by Hirebase Ltd.
The nomination came from Lauren Alexander, who co-ordinates the fundraising at St Andrews Hospice.

‘’Their hashtag #bestsummerever, is the only way I can describe my experience with each and every one of the NCS participants. The nurses, children and I have loved having them here. We were sad for the project to be over but also very excited to get out in the garden to experience the new activities NCS have created for us. All of us at the hospice, would like to say a HUGE thank you to the students for running such an incredible project and for allowing us the opportunity of being a beneficiary. They deserve to be recognised for their hard work towards the community!’’

Lee Stephens, from NCS Grimsby Town is delighted at the nomination.
“NCS is being recognised more and more for the work that young people are doing in the community and changing people lives for the better. This is a prime example of that. Each and every one of the team has worked tirelessly to make this garden the success it is and the nomination is fantastic, giving young people the recognition that they deserve.”

The awards evening is due to take place in 26th November at Cleethorpes Pier.
We at NCS FLT want to congratulate the work that the young people from Grimsby have put into this project, but also wish them the best of luck on the night.

The Football League Trust has delivered National Citizen Service programmes through their network since the initial pilots in 2011. FLT work with more than 40 organisations across the country to provide this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to 15-17 year olds.
They have a network of over 10,000 graduates who have taken part in this once-in-a-lifetime programme, these young people have developed new skills, made new friends and created memories that will last

To find out more about NCS click here

Joe Cole Helps Get Kids Healthy

18th November 2015/in Move and Learn, News /by EFL Trust

Coventry City’s Joe Cole and Aaron Martin visited St. John’s Primary School in Allesley yesterday, helping educate local children on the value of a healthy lifestyle.

Sky Blues in the Community are one of 16 Football League clubs who deliver the Kinder Plus Sport ‘Move and Learn’ project as part of the Football League Trust’s healthy living and sports initiative, sponsored by Fererro.
SBitC were one of the original eight Football League clubs to deliver the project which aims to educate children on the values of eating right and living well.

Coventry City players Joe Cole and Aaron Martin Visit St John’s C of E Primary school in Coventry for a Q&A with the children.Joe meets fan Harry Clasper and Head teacher Gary Watson.

The project will have been rolled out to over 30 schools across Coventry and Warwickshire by the summer which includes activities such as football, dodgeball and handball, and is free to schools.
SBitC Director Guy Rippon said: “We’re delighted to see Joe and Aaron helping us deliver the programme across the Coventry and Warwickshire area.

“It is a project which we were pioneers in as we were one of the first to deliver it in the country last academic year and we’ve seen it go from strength and strength.

“They’re in the middle of the six-week project and the players were there taking questions from pupils and hopefully inspiring pupils to improve their lifestyle.”

Coventry City defender Aaron Martin said: “I’ve always enjoyed getting out in the local community during my time at the club as it is an important part of being a professional footballer.
“The pupils had some great questions for us and it is an important project for children as eating properly is vital for your development in sport and education.
“It is great to see some of the good work in the local community and it’s great to see more children interested in Coventry City this season.”

Coventry Girls ‘In It Together’

18th November 2015/in FFD, News, Sport /by EFL Trust

A new project set up by Coventry City’s Sky Blues in the Community to get more teenage girls and women active has been awarded £201,604 by Sport England.

The Female Football Development programme has allowed Sky Blues in the Community to demonstrate a successful track record of engaging young women and encouraging them back in to football and physical activity, which ultimately helped them secure the grant from Sport England.

The “In it Together” project will provide a range of free activity and fitness opportunities for women at a number of community centres across Coventry. The Sky Blues in the Community team will also be working with secondary schools across the city to offer extra-curricular sessions to young women aged 14 plus, encouraging a more active lifestyle amongst females across the city.

The aim of In it Together is to provide fitness and activity in an informal way, with no commitment or costs for those involved. In turn this will allow groups of women to get active together and to have fun doing it, sharing their stories and experiences through social media, whilst encouraging each other along the way.

The project has been made possible with funding also provided through Coventry City Council’s Public Health Department, who have allocated £38,000 towards the scheme, which will see the activities delivered for the next three years.

Sky Blues in the Community Health Coordinator Hiedi Sloan, said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive this Sport England funding. We piloted certain elements of project over the last 12 months alongside our Female Football Development programme and our consultation showed that there was a need for an alternative approach to sport and being active amongst females. Many women may have had negative experiences or perceptions of sport and a combination of that and lifestyle factors may stop them from being active.

“We aim to overcome some of the barriers, through the In it Together programme with our informal approach, and we have a strong network of partners that we are working with to make this a success and really offer something unique to the women of Coventry.”

This project is one of over 40 projects to secure a share in £8.2 million of National Lottery funding from Sport England. Encouraging people to give sport a go, the fund empowers local communities to reach out to people who for one reason or another don’t exercise.

Announcing the funding, Sport England Director of Community Sport, Mike Diaper, said, “It’s great to be working with innovative projects like In it Together which offer more people the chance to get active in a way that suits them best. Given the overwhelming benefits of being active, it’s important that age, gender, or income never prevent anyone from taking part.”

You can find out more details of the programme on the Sky Blues in the Community website www.sbitc.org

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