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Smart Energy GB Extend Partnership With EFL Trust and EFL

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The EFL and Smart Energy GB have agreed a two-year partnership extension which will see football supporters across England and Wales continue to receive help in understanding their energy spending.

Smart Energy GB teamed up with the EFL and EFL Trust in 2021 and has since held a series of engaging community focused activities showcasing the benefits smart meters can have for households.

 

With 72 EFL Clubs and their Club Community Organisations (CCOs) located in towns and cities across the country, the partnership provides a national platform with local reach to show fans how a smart meter and in-home display could help them better manage energy bills and household finances.

Smart meters are crucial to upgrading Britain’s energy system and by having them installed at home, football supporters will also play a key role in helping the transition to more environmentally friendly and sustainable energy sources, such as wind and solar. 

Ben Wright, the EFL’s Chief Commercial Officer, said:

“EFL Clubs and CCOs support their communities seven days a week, 365 days of the year and with Smart Energy GB focused on helping to tackle fuel poverty and making energy savings all year round, this will help, especially those who have been impacted by the cost-of-living crisis.

“We are pleased to announce this extension so we can continue to help support the communities our Clubs serve.” 

Phillippa Brown, Deputy Director of Special Audiences at Smart Energy GB, said:

“Working in partnership with EFL Clubs and their Club Community Organisations has been incredibly rewarding. The partnership has allowed Smart Energy GB to reach households through their love of football to understand how smart meters could help them better manage their energy bills. This has been vital for many people looking for ways to stay on top of their finances, so we’re excited to continue this work and build on what we’ve achieved across England and Wales already.”

Cathy Abraham, the EFL Trust’s Chief Executive Officer, added:

“We know a lot of people are finding it harder to manage their household bills. Our EFL Club Community Organisations engage with over 840,000 people every year across England and Wales, so are perfectly placed to support those people who may be struggling.

“This partnership with Smart Energy GB will further help people to make informed decisions about the use of their energy.”

Click here to find out more about Smart Energy GB and how a smart meter could benefit you.

Headstart makes expansive headway in North West

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Thousands of Year 6 pupils across the North West of England, making the transition into secondary school, will benefit from a mental health programme involving several EFL Club Community Organisations (CCOs).

Since 2022, the EFL Trust and four CCOs have supported dozens of schools and hundreds of pupils across Lancashire and South Cumbria via a pilot project called Headstart, thanks to funding from Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity after successfully applying for an NHS Charities Together Grant.

The EFL charitable arm is delighted to announce, during Mental Health Awareness Week (15th – 21st May), the programme – which has supported almost a thousand pupils since it began – will be delivered by a further seven charities.

The CCOs will work in schools, providing one to one or group support, in either a classroom environment or delivering sessions, like yoga and mindfulness.

Fleetwood Town Community Trust, Preston North End Community and Education Trust, Morecambe FC Community Sports and Accrington Stanley Community Trust each have a Mental Health Transformation Officer, all of whom aim to reduce strain on the NHS by targeting those children currently accessing or are at risk of needing to access children’s mental health services.

Blackpool FC Community Trust, Blackburn Rovers Community Trust and Burnley FC In The Community have joined the Lancashire cohort of CCOs delivering the programme.

In addition, Bolton Wanderers In The Community, Foundation 92, Rochdale AFC Community Trust and Wigan Athletic Community Trust have come on board thanks to funding and support from Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership, GreaterSport and local authorities; Trafford Council, Wigan Council and Bolton Council.

In 2020, one in six (16.0%) children aged 5 to 16 years were identified as having a probable mental disorder, increasing from one in nine (10.8%) in 2017.

Adrian Bradley, Head of Health & Wellbeing at the EFL Trust said:

“Our Club Community Organisations are well connected within schools across their communities, and we’ve seen some wonderful and impactful examples during our pilot year of delivering the programme.

“We’re delighted that we’ve received further funding for more Club Community Organisations to deliver this programme across Lancashire and Greater Manchester, and reach and support as many children as possible, making that milestone transition in their lives from primary to secondary school.”

Caption: ITV Football visited Larkholme Primary School in Fleetwood to witness EFL Trust Headstart Programme delivered Fleetwood Town Community Trust.

Clinton Morrison visits school to promote Lifebuoy Soaper Heroes as part of EFL Week of Action

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Lifebuoy Soaper Heroes Ambassador Clinton Morrison has been down at Woodford CE Primary School in Northamptonshire to improve kids’ hand washing behaviours as part of the EFL Week of Action.

Lifebuoy have created a Soaper Heroes programme with the aim of educating kids on the importance of hand hygiene to keep themselves and those around them healthy! With cold and flu season among us, it is more important than ever to keep them away from having sick days from nasty germs. With your help, we can have them where we want them, back on the pitch and playing sport.

Clinton said at the event taking place at the Northamptonshire-based school organised by Northampton Town Community Trust:

“Thank you Woodford CofE Primary School and Northampton Town FC Community Trust for hosting us during the EFL’s Week of Action.

“We’ve had fun learning about the importance of good hand hygiene with Lifebuoy.”

With over 150 clubs and 70,000 kids taking part and benefiting from the programme in 2022, you too can become a Soaper Hero by downloading the programme using the link below.

Upon signing up, you will receive the below pack, including two great engaging and educational football activities which you can incorporate into your everyday sessions. Good hand hygiene doesn’t need to be difficult!

  • A welcome letter from Lifebuoy Soaper Heroes Ambassadors
  • An overview of Lifebuoy’s Soaper Heroes Programme
  • Soaper Heroes warm-up activity
  • Soaper Heroes clean-up activity
  • Educational Hygiene Posters for your club
  • Soaper Heroes certificates

Download your Soaper Heroes pack now here.

Remember, Touch it, Wash it, Bish Bash Bosh it!

EFL Trust supports Lifebuoy’s mission to help youngsters on Global Handwashing Day

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Each year on 15th October, 200 million people worldwide celebrate Global Handwashing Day.

We’d urge you to join Lifebuoy’s mission to educate five million children on the importance of hand hygiene by 2025!

Teaching our children why handwashing matters is vital.

Lifebuoy, Official Hygiene Partner of the EFL, set up a kids hand hygiene programme called ‘Soaper Heroes’ which has been put in place to improve kids hand washing behaviours.

The aim of the programme is to help kids, and those around them stay healthy. If we can keep them away from having sick days from nasty germs, we can have them out playing sport and there is where you can help! Lots of clubs and kids are already taking part in the programme, utilising the engaging and educational football activities in their everyday training sessions.

Good hand hygiene doesn’t need to be difficult!

By downloading the Lifebuoy Soaper Heroes programme, you will also receive the following:

  • A welcome letter from EFL’s Soaper Heroes Ambassadors
  • An overview of Lifebuoy’s Soaper Heroes Programme
  • Soaper Heroes warm up activity
  • Soaper Heroes clean up activity
  • Educational Hygiene Posters for your club
  • Soaper Heroes certificates

Search Soaper Heroes to find out more or visit https://www.lifebuoy.co.uk/soaper-heroes-for-schools.html

Download your Soaper Heroes pack by clicking here.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Paul Greenwood/Shutterstock (13026137ba)
Bela Shah visits children in St Oswalds Primary school to join in a Lifebuoys Soaperheros session in Wigan

World Health Day: Using the power of sport to improve health and well-being

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Today (7th April 2018) 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.

One trust in particular, Blackburn Rovers Community Trust, run 48 projects on a daily basis that are all linked to health and wellbeing.

In 2017, the Trust had five projects focused on helping improve the health of the borough and as a result the football club’s official charity engaged with more than 2,500 people in the local area.

This year, Blackburn Rovers Community Trust launched a brand new health programme, EuroFIT (European Fans in Training), for men between the ages of 30-65.

The focus of the 12 week initiative is to increase participants’ physical activity levels and offer guidance on how to lead a healthier life with diet and exercise advice.

The weekly session, which is held at Ewood Park on a Tuesday night, has been led by trained staff from the Trust and Blackburn with Darwen Council.

As part of World Health Day, Blackburn Rovers season ticket holder Peter Graham, who is a regular EuroFIT participant, explained why the programme is perfect for him.

“I have been watching Rovers since 1966 and I found out about EuroFIT through the Community Trust’s Facebook page,” admitted the 59-year-old.

“I have put some weight on over the past few years and as soon as I saw the EuroFIT programme it appealed to me.

“The fact the programme was held at Blackburn Rovers was a huge motivator for me rather than going to the local gym.

“It is a real friendly group that goes to EuroFIT and we all motivate and challenge each other to keep going.

“I have changed my diet after the advice we received and we were also given a pedometer to challenge us to walk more places. I have been that impressed with EuroFIT that I have already recommended it to my friends.”

From the Trust’s point of view, Ilyas Patel leads the EuroFIT programme and he revealed the participants motivate each other every day, not just at the weekly sessions.

He said: “EuroFIT has been a real success and World Health Day presents a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness for this programme and all the other great health programmes we run at Blackburn Rovers Community Trust.

“The participants have all been great and they have all taken to the programme. They have set up their own WhatsApp group to let each other know what exercise they have done and see if they can beat one another.”

Stevenage FC become latest club to sign up to USW Football Foundation Degree

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Stevenage FC Foundation have teamed up with the University of South Wales and EFL Trust to launch a brand-new foundation degree for aspiring coaches to study a higher education course whilst gaining practical experience out in the local community.

The Foundation’s two-year Foundation Degree programme is a course designed for individuals wanting to attain a university qualification and are passionate about pursuing a career in the football industry.

Students develop the necessary skills, qualities and characteristics that are required to work within professional football club community departments or national governing bodies.

Delivered in partnership with the University of South Wales, Stevenage FC Foundation become one of over 35 clubs across the country to deliver the course including Shrewsbury Town, Newport County and Sheffield Wednesday.

All lectures, seminars and tutorials are delivered in a supportive and inspirational club environment, based predominantly within your own football club via online material. This is supported with residential stays at the University of South Wales campus in Cardiff where students from all the clubs, come together twice a year.

Alongside the academic element of the course, students will complete up to 200 hours of voluntary coaching within the community, alongside the Foundation staff, allowing the students to embed and develop the coaching techniques learnt within lectures.

Through the Foundation’s partnership with the University of South Wales, all students will be enrolled as a student at the university. Students will be able to access the university’s online library, blackboard and learning materials, providing them with the best possible learning platform to excel within.

Head of Foundation, Joe Goude said, “We are incredibly excited about the being able to bring the USW Foundation Degree to Stevenage. This is something we’ve been working on for nearly a year now and we cannot wait to get started.

“We already have a fantastic apprenticeship pathway in place for further education with Sporting Futures Training and this is the next tier of that pathway that will allow those apprentices to progress to a higher education programme whilst continuing to build on their practical experience out in our community.

“This programme has seen great success elsewhere in the country with some amazing examples of what students have gone on to achieve and the Foundation is looking to replicate that success locally, to create a viable pathway for people to gain new knowledge, but it into practice in the local community and ultimately make themselves more employable.”

Prerequisites to Apply:

  • BTEC Level 3 – MPP. A Level – DD
  • Enhanced Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check
  • Three A*-C grades at GCSE, including English and maths

More details of the course can be found here.

Clubs unite for EFL Day of Action

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All 72 EFL clubs and their community trusts will come together on the same day for the EFL’s Day of Action to demonstrate the positive impact football can have in changing young people’s lives.

From Plymouth to Peterborough and Sunderland to Southend, on Tuesday 20th March, EFL clubs across all three divisions will showcase the innovative and ground breaking work they do for young people in tackling some of the biggest issues in society across education, health, community inclusion and participation.

Managers and players from the EFL’s 72 clubs will be attending events up and down the country including projects that target mental health, disability and obesity.

In London, Millwall are running a mental health football tournament being held in memory of one of their players who recently died. Over 100 people are due to take part in the Dwain Inniss Cup with manager Neil Harris on hand to offer his support.

Six first team players from Bristol City will be seeing the innovative work of the club’s Youth Council, a group of young people that are making a big impact in their local area by shaping and delivering Bristol City’s community activities including girls, disability and street football. Whilst neighbours Bristol Rovers are inviting their 16-18 year old disability squad to join the first team for a training session lead by manager Darrell Clarke, followed by lunch with the first team squad.

In Yorkshire, Doncaster Rovers have committed to a whole day of activity, including a special appearance from midfielder Matty Blair, who has fronted the club’s efforts to raise awareness of mental health by drawing on his own personal experiences after the loss of his brother Ross to cancer in August 2017.

In the Midlands, Derby County will be celebrating the success of their cancer recovery programme over the past twelve months, with appearances from former Birmingham City striker Geoff Horsfield and Celtic and Aston Villa midfielder Stylian Petrov, who themselves have been affected by the illness.

There is plenty of activity being held by League Two clubs, with Cambridge United showcasing their Enterprise Project, an innovative new programme designed to help secondary school students develop their entrepreneurial and employability skills. School children in Lincoln will be running the Sport Relief Mile around the pitch at Cecil Park alongside players from the Club to raise money for the charity.

EFL Chairman, Ian Lenagan said:

“Football continues to support its communities seven days a week, 365 days a year through our unique network of Club community trusts.

“Bringing all 72 together on one day for the EFL Day of Action highlights the special role the EFL has in society and our collective ability to make a positive and lasting impact to the lives of millions of people.

“It is fantastic to see so many managers and players across England and Wales coming out in support of the excellent work being undertaken by their own Club right in the heart of their own community.

“There are few sporting organisations that can deliver the scale of innovative and ground breaking activity we do via our network of Clubs across so many important areas, including inclusion, charitable causes, community engagement, education or health.”

EFL Footballers take on NCS Grads

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Over the next 2 months, footballers from the EFL will be going toe-to-toe with NCS Graduates to take on the YES/NO game and find out more about NCS.

NCS (National Citizen Service) is a flagship government initiative that has provided 400,000 young people aged 16-17 the chance to take on new challenges, experience exciting activities, make long-lasting friendships and develop vital skills that will support them later in life.

The first footballer in the firing line is Rotherham United defender Ben Purrington who met Casey Holmes, a current member of EFL Trust’s Regional Youth board, and NCS Graduate from Rotherham.

Ben said: “It’s been a pleasure to meet Casey and learn more about NCS and her experience. The opportunities that NCS and Rotherham United offer are great for young people and I urge more to get involved.”

Talking about the YES/NO game, Ben continued: “It’s a lot harder than you think, but it was great fun and I did okay!”

The EFL Trust have been delivering the NCS programme since its pilot year in 2011 and now have a network of over 40,000 graduates. Using the power of football, EFL Trust are in a unique position to publicise the work that NCS are doing during the programme and after. Last year, the social media campaign #NCSMatchDay reached over three million people.

On 15th March, NCS Graduate and now professional footballer Louis Jones at Doncaster Rovers will take on fellow NCS Graduate Holly Dennis. To keep up to date, follow #SayYestoNCS.

To get £15* off NCS this Summer, click here.

EFL Kids Cup finalists in safe hands at Rovers

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Blackburn Rovers goalkeepers David Raya and Jayson Leutwiler offered their support to the club’s EFL Kids Cup finalists Whitefield Primary by hosting a special hour long training session with the school.

The training session, which was held on the 4G surface at Priory Academy in Penwortham, Preston, was in preparation for the regional finals of the competition next month.

Raya and Leutwiler held a variety of different sessions including passing, dribbling and of course, their speciality, goalkeeping, for the primary schools young shot stoppers.

The children finished off with a mini game between themselves, which provided Raya and Leutwiler the opportunity to observe and offer any advice leading up to Whitefield’s EFL Kids Cup showdown in March at Wigan Athletic’s Robin Park Arena.

A win for Whitefield and Rovers will see the South Ribble based primary school don the famous blue and white jersey at Wembley Stadium in May in the EFL Kids Cup final ahead of the League One Play-Off final.

Leutwiler, who lives less than a mile away from Whitefield, hopes they can go all the way and reach the EFL Kids Cup final at the home of English football.

“We were there to offer advice and help Whitefield prepare for their matches coming up,” admitted the Canadian international.

“They all seemed to enjoy the training session we put on and straight away we could tell how much they love football.

“They are now playing for a chance to reach Wembley and I am sure it will be a dream come true for them if they can go all the way. I really hope they do well and I wish them all the best in the regional finals.”

To find out more information about the EFL Kids Cup visit: www.efltrust.com/kidscup/

Charlton Athletic mark Football v Homophobia Month with unique training session

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Charlton Athletic’s management team took time out of their EFL League One promotion race on Thursday [22nd February 2018] to run a one-off training session for Charlton Athletic Community Trust Invicta FC. 

CACT Invicta FC are the first LGBTQI+ friendly team to be affiliated to a professional football club, as a part of February’s Football v Homophobia Month of Action.

Demonstrating Charlton’s commitment to supporting CACT Invicta’s aims to raise awareness of LGBT issues and tackle homophobia, CAFC First Team Manager Karl Robinson was joined by his Assistant Lee Bowyer and First Team Coach/Club Captain Johnnie Jackson.

The trio put the team through their paces with a punishing session at the Club’s Sparrows Lane training ground in New Eltham during a chilly lunchtime.

CACT Invicta FC is open to all players, regardless of their background. In their inaugural season in Charlton’s colours, Invicta are sitting top of the London Unity League, 6 points clear, with 4 games to play.

CACT Invicta Player/Manager Gary Ginnaw reflected on the nature of the ground breaking work his team were undertaking saying: “All we want to do is come down, play football, work hard and be successful.

“Hopefully we will have something to look back on in years to come that we achieved together and made a difference.”

Football v Homophobia is a grassroots campaign that exists to challenge discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression at all levels in football.

Charlton Athletic dedicated their home game against Oxford at the beginning of February to tackling homophobia, the second annual themed match-day of this kind at The Valley.

Speaking at the event, CACT Chief Executive Officer Jason Morgan MBE spoke about how Charlton Athletic has always led the way in fighting discrimination: ”There are certainly echoes of the work we undertook to combat racism in football back in the 1990’s. Those projects were picked up and taken to a national level.

”Similarly, it’s now great to see other clubs across the country now affiliating LGBTQI+ friendly teams and taking positive steps to promote inclusion and supporting this within club and community projects.”

 

To find out more about Football v Homophobia visit: www.footballvhomophobia.com/