World Health Day – Football Fans in Training

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Today (7th April 2019) is World Health Day. A day to raise global awareness and local conversations about ways to achieve health for all.

We, alongside our 72 EFL Club Community Trusts, use the power of sport to improve health and well-being in local communities around the UK.

Working across all age groups and sections of the community from healthy eating sessions in primary schools through to sessions helping those suffering from dementia.

Football Fans in Training (FFIT)

The Football Fans in Training scheme, delivered by 5 EFL Club Community Trusts [Swindon Town, Wycombe Wanderers, Blackpool, Middlesbrough and Charlton Athletic], is aimed at overweight football fans, encouraging them to lose weight, get fit and live a healthier, more active life.

Fans on the scheme take part in a 12-week training programme delivered by Club community coaches at their team’s home stadium. They are also grounded in current science of how to eat more healthily and become more active.

Since running the FFIT project, Swindon Town FC Community Foundation have helped more than 200 fans lose more than 250 stone collectively.

One participant in particular on The Robins’ programme, Dave Potts, was the biggest loser out of the group that ran in 2018, after losing nearly 3 stone and 16cm off his waist (16.3% of his starting weight).

Talking about his experience on the programme he said: “Since starting the Football Fans in Training programme I’m a lot fitter, sleeping better and I’m lot happier.

“The result that was a real shock to me was that my blood pressure has come down by over 15%.

“The course has made so many huge changes in my life.”

Mike Evans, Director of Operations at EFL Trust said: “The EFL Trust is committed to improving the lives of people within EFL communities across country and Football Fans in Training is proven to be a great way to get people to think about sustainable changes to improve their lives.

“We are proud of the work in our EFL Clubs in this area so far and hope to do more to address this important challenge going forward.”

World Health Day – Joy of Moving

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Today (7th April 2019) is World Health Day. A day to raise global awareness and local conversations about ways to achieve health for all.

We, alongside our 72 EFL Club Community Trusts, use the power of sport to improve health and well-being in local communities around the UK.

Working across all age groups and sections of the community from healthy eating sessions in primary schools, through to sessions helping those suffering from dementia.

Joy of Moving

The Joy of Moving Programme, delivered locally by 23 EFL Club Community Trusts, is designed to help children develop their physical health, cognitive and social skills in a fun and educational way.

The Trusts run fun and engaging activities over a course of six-weeks, with children from year 5 spending time in the classroom learning about the body, nutrition and the importance of exercise, through participating in interactive activities.

The classroom sessions are then followed by a session dedicated to playing football, dodgeball or handball, with two weeks spent on each sport.

In the 2017/18 season the programme impacted over 60,000 primary school children.

Mike Evans, Director of Operations at the EFL Trust said: “The Joy of Moving programme and our partnership with Ferrero is growing from strength to strength.

‘’The power of sport and the club badge allows our network of Community Trusts to deliver key messages, such as tackling obesity, to reach out to the wider community.

‘’We are committed to helping the next generation discover the joy of moving and we look forward to continuing to work with Ferrero and our own network to achieve this.”

Thousands of Children discover the ‘Joy of Moving’!

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This summer thousands of children from across the country have learnt new ways to stay active and have fun thanks to the launch of the Joy of Moving Festivals. The national initiative has reached out to hundreds of schools. Read more

HRH Duke of Cambridge lends support to Cambridge United’s ambitious new community strategy – Gameplan 2020

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Cambridge United Community Trust received support from His Royal Highness Prince William the Duke of Cambridge as they launched Game Plan 2020, the Club’s new strategy for community work over the next three years.

Game Plan 2020 builds on Cambridge United Community Trust’s work to date and adds a further 12 programmes. The 30 initiatives across the areas of health, education and inclusion all aim to help create a fairer and more prosperous Cambridge for all.  It includes new projects in mental health, literacy and loneliness alongside deepening existing work in disability sports, science in schools and volunteering. Details of all projects can be read here.

In his foreword to the strategy document Game Plan 2020 HRH The Duke of Cambridge said:

“Cambridge United is a very close neighbour of the East Anglian Air Ambulance, where I was a pilot for two years, at the heart of a community to which I have a very strong personal connection. It is encouraging to see how active the Club is in the local area – from running lunch clubs for pensioners through to hosting disability football sessions for all groups. The Club’s new mental health programme for young people is particularly innovative and important.

“Cambridge United is the epitome of a good community-based Club. The ambition of the Cambridge United Community Trust, on behalf of the Club in the local community, is one that many other football clubs – big and small – could learn from across the Country. It is great to see Cambridge United raise this ambition further and look to build on their outstanding community work of recent years. By focusing even more help on those who need it most, the Trust will ensure thousands of local people can benefit from the positive power of football. Good luck with the important work.”

Tracey Crouch, Sports Minister, said “It is great to see Cambridge United using the power of sport to have such a positive impact in their local community. Their new strategy – Gameplan 2020 – will build on the great work of their Community Trust and am sure will be a big success. I am particularly pleased to see the Club starting a new mental health programme in schools next year. I know myself just how sport can make such a difference to a person’s mental well being.”

Martin Glenn, CEO of the Football Association, said: “The work of the Cambridge United Community Trust is a shining example of how a professional football club can be a true force for good in its local community. It is great to see the Trust extending the chance to play the game to every part of society – from people with different disabilities to senior citizens who still love to kick a ball. The Club is now setting out its new ambitions to do even more to tackle inequality and provide opportunity. Everyone at the FA wishes them every success with these exciting plans.”

Graham Daniels, Chair of Cambridge United Community Trust, said: “Everyone associated with Cambridge United is honoured that HRH The Duke of Cambridge has endorsed our community work in this way. We are proud to have such high level support for the important work of our Trust from Government and the Football Association. It is testament to the hard work and passion of all the staff and volunteers who have done so much to drive the Trust’s work since it was formed. The Trust has been an important symbol of the Club’s desire to become a genuine community club that uses the power of sport to help every part of Cambridge wherever we can, 7 days a week.

“Cambridge is a fantastic global city. It is world class in so many different ways. And we are proud that our Club is based here. It is also however a city which is home to some of the most disadvantaged communities in the country – many of whom live very close to our home at the Abbey Stadium. The Abbey Ward has, for example, the highest degree of child poverty in Cambridge.

“The social responsibility to do more for these groups and to help close the inequality gap falls at least in part to organisations such as Cambridge United through the Community Trust. We believe that Gameplan 2020 with its 30 programmes focused on the areas of health, education and inclusion can help create a fairer and more prosperous Cambridge for all.”

– Trust to increase number of community programmes to 30 to help all parts of the City

– Tracey Crouch, Sports Minister, and Martin Glenn, CEO of the FA, also endorse Trust’s work

The power of football helps save man’s life

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At the age of 16, Paul Davies suffered a 430 bolt electric shock whilst at work in his first role after leaving school and endured a serious cardiac arrest.

The unfortunate workplace accident left Paul with severe anxiety and unable to achieve what we had hoped so shortly after finishing secondary school.

Twelve years on from the accident, Paul has attempted to commit suicide on two separate occasions, the latest being in January this year when he took an overdose.

The father of two has since made a full recovery and is now on track in turning his life around, citing the opportunities created by Blackburn Rovers Community Trust and Creative Support as the reason for his new positive outlook on life.

Paul started his road to recovery by joining Blackburn Rovers Community Trust’s Social Inclusion Football League in April, which is hosted in partnership between both charitable organisations at the Blackburn Rovers Indoor Centre on a monthly basis.

The league has been designed to support people with needs in mental health, substance misuse, social isolation and homelessness. Since its inception in 2011, the SIFL has helped more 800 people through the power of the football and many of those, through the support mechanisms in place and their new found confidence, have moved into further education and employment.

Paul plays football in SIFL on a regular basis

Even though Paul has only been participating in the SIFL for the past six months, he has realised a lifetime ambition by becoming an FA qualified coach and is now looking forward to a brighter future and applying for paid football coaching vacancies.

Currently working on a voluntary basis for a local children’s team, Paul has just re-started playing 11-a-side football on a Saturday for the first time in seven years alongside spending quality time with his young family.

Keen to raise awareness about mental health and the impact it can have, Paul explained why the Social Inclusion Football League at Blackburn Rovers has given him the confidence to make the right changes in his life.

He said: “I lost my full time job of nine years because of mental health issues and I received my final pay off last August. I went really downhill from there because and I got myself back into a rut and every day was a struggle.

“I would wake up in the morning and every day would be a battle. My mental health problems began 12 years ago after my accident.

“I tried taking my life seven years ago and I tried once again earlier this year with an overdose, but since getting involved with Blackburn Rovers Community Trust and Creative Support, I have structure in my life again.

“They got me involved in the Social Inclusion Football League at Ewood Park and I started playing five months ago.

“I haven’t looked back since. SIFL has helped massively and the league is very well organised with everyone making you feel welcome straight away. It is good because everyone else is in the same boat and recovering from something that has impacted their life in a negative way. I am now consistently doing something which I enjoy and I now have the confidence to socialise because I found it difficult to go out and socialise.

“I have made some new friends and I am now a qualified FA Level 1 coach working towards my Level 2 qualification. I have always wanted to be a coach but I never had the belief to do it, but now I am volunteering working for a local junior team and applying for full time coaching jobs, roles I never thought I would stand a chance of doing.”

Paul, pictured with his two young children

To find out more about Blackburn Rovers Community Trust visit: http://www.brfctrust.co.uk/Community/

EFL Trust Wins £0.5 Million for Active Ageing

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The Trust will receive £0.5M of National Lottery funding from Sport England’s Active Ageing fund to help older adults stay active.

The ‘Extra Time’ project will harness the power of football clubs in the local communities to create Extra Time Hubs.

Research shows inactivity among older adults (the over 55’s) is responsible for as many deaths as smoking. 36% of over 55’s are inactive compared to 26% of the population as a whole. Research also shows those who do the least exercise stand to benefit the most.

Starting in 2018, twelve EFL clubs will run ‘Extra Time Hubs’ . The hubs will be a regular gathering place for older people to come together to socialize and to prove that you’re never too old learn to do the things you’ve always wanted to do.


Based within the stadium and utilising the clubs facilities, the programme will create a community of like-minded people to shape what’s on offer. The activities will be peer led and could include anything from archery to zumba, bowls to walking football. Nothing is off the menu. The members can contribute to organising and running the groups and sessions, or just come along for the fun.

Mike Evans, The EFL Trust Director of Operations, comments:“With the support of Sport England’s Active Ageing fund, our programme will directly address inactivity in older adults right in the heart of UK communities.

”The power of our football club badges will bring people together in a comfortable, familiar environment and allow them to shape their future path to improved health and well-being.”

Sport England is investing £10 million of National Lottery money into 20 projects across England to reduce the number of inactive older adults in the country. The 20 funded projects will use activity to help tackle problems including poor mental health, dementia, loneliness caused by bereavement, and addiction.

Mike Diaper, Executive Director at Sport England said: “People are living longer but not necessarily in the best of health. We’re excited to be supporting these 20 partners with National Lottery funding to help get older adults get active. We’ll be sharing learnings so successful approaches can be scaled-up or replicated across the country so we can help more adults lead happier and healthier lives.”

Sport England has put tackling inactivity at the heart of its strategy ‘Towards An Active Nation’. There are roughly 5.8 million inactive people over 55 in England and the number of inactive people is growing as people are living longer.

Being active is one of the most important things people can do to maintain health and wellbeing as they age. Physically active older people have higher levels of mobility and a lower of risk of disease than those who are inactive. Ill health often means the loss of independence and is linked to social isolation and depression.

For more information on the Active Ageing fund please visit:  www.sportengland.org/funding/active-ageing-fund/

About Sport England

Sport England is a public body and invests more than £300 million National Lottery and government money each year in projects and programmes that help people get active and play sport. It wants everyone in England, regardless of age, background, or level of ability, to feel able to engage in sport and physical activity. That’s why a lot of its work is specifically focused on helping people who do no, or very little, physical activity and groups who are typically less active – like women, disabled people and people on lower incomes.

Sport England’s Active Lives survey November 2015 – November 2016 shows inactivity levels for age 55-64 (28% inactive), 65-74 (31% inactive) 75-84 year olds (49% inactive), 85+ (72% inactive)

Sport England’s Active Lives survey November 2015 – November 2016.

The number of people aged 60 or over is expected to pass the 20 million mark by 2030 (Office for National Statistics, 2015).

First Women’s Walking Football Competition Honours Pioneers

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The very first women’s national walking football tournament is set to take place in Preston, Lancashire on Sunday 2nd July 2017 to commemorate 100 years of the Dick, Kerr Ladies.

In the history of women’s football, The Dick, Kerr Ladies are the most successful team in the world. They were formed at the Dick, Kerr & Co Ltd munitions factory in Preston, Lancashire during the First World War, these very ordinary factory girls from Preston quite literally took the country by storm.

On Christmas Day 1917, 10,000 spectators came to Deepdale, the home of Preston North End Football Club, to witness the start of the most phenomenal success story in the history of women’s sport. Dick, Kerr Ladies notched up the first of many famous victories whilst raising £600 for wounded soldiers.

On Boxing Day 1920, 53,000 spectators packed into Goodison Park, Everton, to see the Dick, Kerr Ladies take on St Helens Ladies, with another 14,000 people locked out and unable to gain admission to the ground. Another victory was recorded for the Dick, Kerr team and an incredible amount of £3,115 was raised for charity.

During the War the Government appointed women welfare supervisors and sent them into the factories to oversee the physical well-being of the factory girls and encourage the development of sporting activities. Among those activities was football, and football became the official sport of the munitions girls. Almost every factory across the United Kingdom involved in war work, had a ladies football team.

Incredibly, in 1921 the FA banned womens football, setting back the development of the womens game for decades. However, the Dick, Kerr ladies continued to play football around the world until 1965 leaving behind a glittering legacy.

For more on the story of the Dick, Kerr Ladies visit www.dickkerrladies.com

Tournament Details

The first national women’s walking football competition will be held in Preston on 2nd July 2017 to commemorate 100 years of the Dick, Kerr Ladies.

  • Teams of 6-A-Side Women (squad of up to 9 women players with flexi-substitutions)
  • Two age groups – Over 40’s and Over 50’s
  • Over 50’s Teams must consist of over 50’s Women (with two women players under 50 permitted, but with only one under 50 on the pitch at any time)
  • Over 40’s Teams must consist of over 40’s Women (with two women players under 40 permitted, but with only one under 40 on the pitch at any time)
  • National Tournament Official Rules and more information at www.walkingfootballunited.co.uk
  • Entry fee £30 per team – plus admin fee of £2.45 if booking online at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dick-kerr-ladies-cup-national-womens-walking-football-
  • tournament-tickets-28311050113
    Closing date for entries 30th April 2017.

For further information contact mel@pne.com

Doncaster Legend Thrives at Foundation’s Walking Football

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Prolific striker in his heyday, Laurie Sheffield notched an impressive 34 goals in just 58 games during his first of two spells at Doncaster Rovers – way back in 1965. Just last week, the 77 year old bagged himself a hat-trick in the same neck of the woods.

Laurie still gets to kick a ball about three times a week in his beloved Rovers shirt through the Walking Football programme, which was established by Club Doncaster Foundation last year.

The project is targeted at adults who are less active but still have a love and passion for football and allows both men and women to participate in the walking format of the game.

Perfect for former Rovers and Newport County AFC forward, Laurie who fittingly celebrated his return to the game at the Keepmoat Stadium on Saturday during the interval of the clash between the two sides.

“At first I thought, walking football! Is that a really a thing? But I’ve been involved for 12 months now and I’ve loved every minute.” He said. “There’s no substitute for actually being on the pitch and I can play the game I love again.”

“It releases you. When you come down here, every other problem in your life goes away.”

“For example, my wife is poorly and as much as you’ve got to get your priorities right and I’ll always look after her, sometimes we’re on each other’s backs so it’s good for both of us for me to release a bit of tension away on the pitch.”

Since its establishment, the project has completely blossomed and the initial target of 20 players has been well surpassed with 64 participants at regular sessions.

Jan Milner who been instrumental to this success explains the importance of the programme. “Walking football breaks barriers.” She said. “People often think they can’t do it but as soon as they get here they realise that actually, they are capable and it will change their life.”

“The beauty of it is that is has everything that football offers, the exercise, the competition, even down to the banter and the social aspects. It gives people the opportunity to not only re-live their footballing memories but also create new ones.”

As well as the sessions, Jan has also organised an open evening to host activities, a quiz and a ‘trip down memory lane’ on the 6th of October, which will hopefully also become a regular thing to allow an alternative to training over the winter months.

To find out more information please click here.

Nottingham County FITC Make Prominent New Mental Health Signing

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Notts County FITC are at the frontline of  improving the mental health of men and women from Nottingham. FITC deliver numerous projects which have successfully improved the mental health of 100s of people across the county of Nottingham.  County are looking to increase this even more with the addition of an exciting new “signing” to the team which will add significant skill and experience.

Dr Nigel Plant has recently joined Notts County FC Football in the Community (FITC) since his retirement as Associate Professor teaching Mental Health Nursing at the University of Nottingham. A life-long Notts County FC fan and mental health specialist, Nigel has joined former Notts County FC manager and captain, Ian Richardson to work part-time on FITC’s mental health projects, offering additional support.  He commented “I believe these projects provide a unique service in a non-clinical environment, and reach out to members of the public who may be put off from seeking assistance from more formal and assessment-based services”.

FITC delivers six community mental health projects in total, including two very different projects for men and women, using multi-sports and physical activity, while achieving positive, long-term benefits for participants.

The men’s project “On the Ball” was designed nine years ago in collaboration with Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust (the local NHS mental health trust), has received several awards and is recognised as an example of national best practice among professional football clubs. The “Notts County” model has developed such a wide-reaching reputation that the team have received visits from mental health workers from Norway and Iceland in the last few months.

The project uses football to build team working, communication and social skills. It enables participants to train in a structured football environment with high quality staff. Participants benefit from a healthier lifestyle and regular activity, giving them more energy and helping them feel more positive. The project includes half-time team talks based on topical, high profile football stories, which encourage participants to open up and discuss issues such as depression, anger management, communication and team working, among others. In this way, participants benefit from positive mental health promotion in a non-clinical environment.

Meanwhile, the women’s project “Right Mind” was introduced 18 months ago and is a multi-sports and social project, which has been a success from the outset. Sessions are based around exercise which participants select from a menu of activities. These are delivered by male and female coaches in a relaxed, supportive environment. The main focus is ensuring everyone has fun by playing a range of sports and taking part in different physical activities. Participants make new friends and have the opportunity to socialise at the end of sessions.

“Right Mind” participant Kat Turner: “I feel like I am much more stable at home, it gets me up in the morning and out of the house meeting other people. I just feel it’s helping my all round mental and physical health. I’ve been losing wight ad thinking about what I eat more, and it encourages me to do things for myself which I probably wouldn’t have been motivated to do. So it’s definitely helping my confidence and motivation”.

kat turner
Dr Alan Pringle, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham (UoN) and expert on the impact of professional football on mental health: “Although many excellent professional football community mental health schemes are in existence. The longevity of the Notts County FITC mental health schemes set them apart from the others”.

Look Good Feel Good

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The Club Doncaster Foundation has been continuing to help improve the lives of people within the local community.

Over the past two months, the health and wellbeing section within the Foundation have been running the Look Good Feel Good programme, in collaboration with Mencap Doncaster and Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council, to help people become independent, cook meals and get fit.

The programme has seen participants enjoy a question and answer session with Doncaster Rovers first team players, go to a football match, prepare and cook meals and take part in various team building activities.

Speaking about the programme, Club Doncaster Foundation community officer Nick Gillott said: “The course that we have run over the past two months has had a massive impact on the lives of people within Doncaster.

“It is great that we as a Foundation are able to positively help the local community so much and see people enjoying themselves.

“From the feedback we have received from the course, we are delighted that we have had a positive influence on the people who participated on the course and we look forward to running similar programmes in the future.

For more information on how you can get involved with the Foundation visit www.clubdoncasterfoundation.co.uk

You can see some of the great work that has been done by the Club Doncaster Foundation on the programme in the video below: