Off Field Impact – Community Work in the EFL
The EFL sides we love in the Championship, League One and League Two are typically known for playing football on most Saturdays and the occasional midweek as well, with their strong squads, loyal fan bases and big name players. However, the seventy-two sides in the EFL also partake in their communities – participating in work with the intention of creating a positive impact on the community and city they are based in through their name and reputation.
Join me as we look at the EFL’s community platform and how three clubs from across the divisions take their name, funds and reputation and turn this into positive community work that has positively impacted the areas they are based in as well as the clubs themselves.
The EFL in the Community
Set up in 2008 with the aim of using ‘the power of sport to improve people’s lives’, this organisation resources the charities of the EFL clubs helping those charities to run some of the programmes and initiatives that are delivered in their communities. This organisation also outlines their strategy for work in the community striving to achieve a ‘collective network of seventy-two distinct organisations each equipped and empowered to address their community’s diverse social challenges using the power of football to improve lives.’ This is something that if achieved would allow both a collaborative and individual impact in all of the EFL clubs’ charity organisations therefore creating a positive impact through schemes, programmes, and other deliveries that the charities feel is necessary to have a substantial impact.
The organisation can be seen to be successful too with £1.24 billion worth of social value generated across a range of community initiatives and programmes as well as engaging with 1.1 million people in the 2023/24 season, therefore showing the benefit that the delivery of these programmes and initiatives are having to millions of people across communities all over the country. As well as this, clubs and their charities spent over £400m in their local communities and directly provided or supported over 65,000 jobs which has helped in this engagement as well as generating jobs for people across these charities.
As we can see, the EFL in the Community acts as a central figure helping to connect charities from the 72 clubs together in a network whilst also ensuring that the charities of the clubs are able to tackle some of society’s biggest challenges – even if it is one step at a time.
Bradford City – EFL Sky Bet League Two
For our first example, we start at League Two’s Bradford City whose Bradford City Community Foundation functions as the club’s official charity partner conducting work in the community. Set up in 1988, the foundation collaborates with schools and the community to engage with people who may be disadvantaged. This comes through the targeting of programmes with literacy, numeracy and PSHE sessions all being delivered to help these targeted people learn more and to help them in their own education. As well as this, the community run a food pantry which opens on Thursdays with anyone free to drop in and collect a food parcel at a low rate. Over the winter Christmas break, the foundation also offered food hampers for £7.50 which included the basics for Christmas dinner as well as other essentials for over the break – helping to support families who are not able to afford food from other major supermarkets.
The community foundation also runs the Bantams Clubhouse which is open before kick-off each Saturday home game for those aged between 5 and 16 years old. The clubhouse is located on Midland Road offering a variety of zones including a sports hall, outdoor 3G pitch and a games room where children and young people will be able to take part in a variety of activities – including football-related games and arts and crafts. This offers a form of pre-match entertainment for younger supporters whilst also engaging with one of the aims of ‘Achieving Goals Together’ project which aims to grow the fanbase of the football club through the offering of physical health activities.
Finally, it was recently announced that the Foundation and the club had generated £13.2 million in social value – the estimated value of the social impact conducted by the Foundation. This shows the value of the impact of the Community’s work and the subsequent positive impact that the foundation has conducted over the 2023/24 season.
Bristol Rovers – EFL Sky Bet League One
Next, we move into League One and to Bristol Rovers whose Bristol Rovers Community Trust – set up in 1992 – offers projects to people from four to over 80 years old. With their aims of social inclusion, education of all genders and all ages, an increased sports participation as well as an increased health of people, the Community set out their impact into four zones – education, health, inclusion, and sports.
We start at the first quarter of impact – education. Through degrees and a variety of Level 2 and Level 3 courses, the community are able to educate those who may find it difficult to access these levels of education or those who are looking for a way into the world of sport. The degrees can also provide pathways into the trust itself with several employees of the trust completing the degree course. On the other hand, the Level 2 and Level 3 courses provide opportunities both in employment and further education. Here, we can see that the courses offered help to expand the reach of football whilst also helping to educate young people who may not be able to find the opportunities that are offered here.
Next, we move to the health quarter of impact which benefits younger and older people in the community. Firstly, the +Sport, Move and Learn programme, taught in schools across Bristol and Gloucestershire, combines practical and classroom learning and encourages physical activity whilst also promoting nutritional education. Furthermore, this programme helps in building awareness of both a healthy diet and an active lifestyle for children. As we can see, this programme helps to teach younger people in schools the importance of physical activity as well as the importance of healthy diets. These are lessons that can be brought forward and applied by young people as they develop into adults. As well as this, the Extra Time Club – offered to over 60s – is a programme that provides regular day trips and activities with the aim of increasing participation in physical activity across the older population whilst also aiming to tackle issues of social isolation and loneliness. This is something that can be seen to work with 100% of people who take part in the scheme saying they feel less socially isolated – therefore showing the positive impact the scheme has on regular people.
We then arrive at inclusion – our third quarter of impact. Firstly, the Refugee Football Festival is a festival set up by the trust which brings together all the communities and refugees from across Bristol with the aim of celebrating the impressive and sizable contributions they make to the city. As well as this, Premier League Kicks is a program run by the trust which offers free football opportunities to the whole community using high quality accessible spaces whilst also targeting underrepresented groups such as women and disabled groups. This programme can be seen to have a positive impact with 211 people taking part with seventy-five of these taking part in organised competitions according to the latest impact report with one participant saying it gives him a ‘safe space’ where he can achieve his goals in football.
Finally, we arrive at sports – the fourth quarter of impact. Firstly, Bristol Rovers Women’s Football Club runs opportunities for young women aged between 16 and 18 to take part in grassroots football at an affordable rate. This is a scheme that can be seen to be quite popular with 116 females attending pre-season training for the women’s side. As well as this, Premier League Primary Stars is a scheme run by the trust targeting children aged between 5 and 11 years old with the scheme aiming to develop skills and ambition both on and off the field of play. Through working with many schools in Bristol, the trust has been able to run 512 of these sessions showing the scale and impact that the trust aims to have in schools across Bristol.
As we can see, the Trust’s impact is not small in its scale. Instead, it aims to maximise its impact through its four pillars of impact as detailed above. This helps to maximise the positive community impact that the Trust has whilst also improving the range of targeting it undertakes – with all ages, genders and races reached.
West Bromwich Albion – EFL Sky Bet Championship
Our third and final EFL case study lands us at West Bromwich Albion whose Albion Foundation acts as their charitable arm. The foundation aims to create a ‘proud Albion family who are engaged, inspired & achieving their potential.’ They also aim to embrace their values of integrity, finding a better way, inspiring to achieve and finally to go above and beyond in their work. They deliver their programme through three core areas – Wellbeing, Behaviour Change and Active Lifestyle. As well as this, their Go Local programme aims to provide hubs which will create impact in both the community and schools.
Firstly, The Foundation addresses their first area of Wellbeing through their range of programmes. Their Hawthorns Hub and Baggies Buddies programmes aim to tackle the issue of loneliness and isolation. The Hawthorns Hub is open on Wednesdays with anyone free to join – not just Albion fans. This provides an opportunity for supporters and people to get out of their houses and go to the Hub where they meet new people.
The Foundation does also acknowledge not everyone can make it in person which is why the Foundation runs virtual hub meetings which are available on both Monday and Thursday evenings. As well as this, The Baggies Buddies programme offers an opportunity to supporters who may feel lonely or isolated and feel football could help this. A supporter of the Baggies will accompany this supporter to the game meeting them two hours before the game. The tickets for the individual wishing to attend are also reduced to just £10 – making it more accessible for supporters. These two schemes acknowledge the 15500+ people over 65 who feel isolated or lonely in the region and aim to tackle this issue whilst also positively impacting the individuals who feel isolated. It also aims to acknowledge the area of mental health with the Foundation itself displaying that there has been a 61% increase in adult mental health services contact from 2018 to 2023.
As well as this, the memories group is a programme which involves a weekly session where people with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease can attend for free. In these sessions, the individuals that attend can talk about anything with people who attend said to enjoy talking about the Black Country and West Bromwich Albion. This scheme aims to reach the estimated 3,300 people who live with dementia in the region whilst also reaching those who live with Alzheimer’s.
Next, we move onto the second area of aimed impact – Behaviour Change. With the aim of unearthing ‘the complexities of life and making positive behaviour change,’ the Foundation works with both primary and secondary schools to run programmes supporting pupils whilst also addressing the behaviour that may result in exclusions and also giving the child a better start in life. Through these programmes, the Foundation has been able to work with 450 children in schools whilst also providing over 110 hours of support per week. This can be seen to help the 8000 pupils in the local area who are classed as having Special Educational Needs (SEN) with pupils reporting an 85% increase in their confidence as well as an 85% increase in their attitude towards work. This shows the positive impact that the Foundation is having through these programmes and shows the progress that can be made if you simply sit down and address what could be improved in a child’s behaviour.
As well as this, the foundation’s third area for impact – Active Lifestyles – aims to encourage both adults and children to take up an active lifestyle to reduce their weight and improve their physical health. One example can be seen through their girls in football provisions. This includes the Foundation’s Emerging Talent Centre programme which aims to ‘identify and develop future potential players by providing local, accessible high-quality training environments.’ Through their 32 hour programme, the Foundation provides an inspiring space where young women under the age of 11 can enhance and continue their footballing journey. This aims to grow the players abilities and personal skills developing them into a more well-rounded person. As well as this, the Foundation’s Girls’ Games Programme aims to provide young female players with the opportunity to put their skills into practice through competitive matches with these matches aiming to inspire and empower the players to grow both as individuals and as players whilst also enjoying the football they are playing. Both of these schemes give young, aspiring female players the opportunity to thrive and grow through competitive and learning situations helping them to both develop personally and professionally.
The Foundation also offers a pre-academy football scheme for younger players who are not old enough to play in a grassroots or academy side. The foundation runs mini/junior sessions which are available during term time as well as pre-academy sessions which are coached with high quality. These aim to create a positive learning environment whilst also teaching the young player the core skills and techniques required to play football. These two programmes were set up with the aim of developing a young child’s love of football whilst also aiming to develop the core skills and techniques of football.
Finally, the Foundation expand their provisions from a national reach to an international reach with programmes on offer to international players such as a residential experience which involves a paid residential experience in England with accommodation in Birmingham as well as the opportunity to tour some of England’s best stadium as well as St George’s Park – the home of England and the FA. As well as this, players will also undergo training sessions whilst having the opportunity to play matches and watch professionals in action. The Foundation also offers a coaching course which is UEFA B Level. This course involves FA and UEFA level coaches coming to the Foundation to teach learners the skills and knowledge they have gained whilst also offering up their experience to improve the learner’s own coaching skills. Overall, these two opportunities work in differing ways and with differing aims, but both give learners the opportunities to work towards their aims whilst also giving them the opportunity to develop personally as well.
We now arrive at the Foundation’s Go Local provision which can be split up into two areas – community and school, as they outline in their strategy. The community aspect of this provision focuses on creating collaborative efforts with schools, colleges, and faith groups to focus on the needs of the community whilst also allowing groups to access the programmes run by the Foundation. Some of these programmes include ones we have gone into detail with including the Hawthorns Hub and Albion Memories. However, new schemes such as Kicks and green space activities for adults aim to expand the reach of the Foundation in being able to help more people improve their health and wellbeing.
The school side of this provision also aims to create a similar impact striving to provide support for students who need it. Through using the schools as ‘physical hubs’ to deliver programmes, the Foundation is able to offer schemes such as mentoring to identified young people who may find this support useful and beneficial. As well as this, CPD support for teachers and targeted PSHE inventions can be put forward helping to create a positive impact for schools, teachers, and students.
Overall, The Albion Foundation’s work ensures that the local area of the club is able to access the support it needs whilst also ensuring that children are set up better for the future. Furthermore, the Foundation’s tireless work ensures that all aspects of the community are benefitted through the work on offer therefore helping to create a quite beautiful and inspirational impact for the community.
Striving For A Better Community In The EFL?
The work that these three charitable organisations undertake can be seen to have a positive impact in every aspect of their communities’ creating ripples of success in improving people’s mental health, physical health, and overall well being. However, just because we have looked at three, it does not mean there are not others. In your area, in your football club, in your community, a charitable organisation associated with your local EFL sides will be running similar projects and provisions to create the very impact we have seen in the three examples above.
Together, these organisations in the EFL can strive for a better community, a better region, a better country with your awareness, your help, and your support for them.
