Football clubs have long been an integral part of the communities they represent. But their influence doesn’t stop on the pitch.
Outside of game days, we have various initiatives in place to help our community. The club highlights its commitment during the English Football League’s Action Week.
A recent report measuring the impact of EFL club activity in the community found that 72 clubs and their community organizations generated over £865m in social value in England and Wales during the 2021-22 season. suggesting.
BBC Sport looks at some of the schemes across the EFL.
Getting new moms back into fitness
Hayley Kinnaird and Elle Legat are new moms trying to get back to their former fitness after recently having a baby.
Their local football club, Doncaster Rovers, supports them. And the pair will take the baby along as well.
“I was part of a pilot course,” Haley said. “I joined when my son was about five and a half months old. He’s about seven months now.”
She heard about the sessions at a local fitness group and attends them weekly.
“It was a bit daunting to think that this was the Doncaster Rovers football club,” Elle said. “But once you’re in the session, you can rest assured that your baby will be prioritized, but so will you.”
She describes the sessions as “a good balance between mental and physical health,” and Hayley agrees.
“We go at our own pace, and if you need help on how to do a particular exercise, the support is there. It’s nice to have a support network from other moms, too. It’s really beneficial.” ”
Their stories highlight the experiences of many people around the country who live in the same areas as EFL clubs implementing similar plans in their local communities.
“Doncaster is Yorkshire’s second most underprivileged area and we designed the course to offer something to mothers who can’t afford a baby group or a session with a personal trainer.” , Doncaster Health and Welfare Coordinator Lauren Platts explained.
“New moms need very low-impact exercise. For some, exercise is unsafe, so they come to enjoy the social aspect. I can.”
In some cases, exercise can be a walk around Doncaster’s EcoPower Stadium or a session with resistance bands. There is also a mental health midwife who speaks with mothers and regular sessions on nutrition.
“Not many moms have the confidence to go to the gym after giving birth,” says Lauren, noting that nearly 600,000 women in the UK give birth each year.
“Everyone here is on the same wavelength. We’ve all had babies, so there’s the mental health aspect. It’s not just the physical side of having a baby.”
Doncaster full-back Tommy Lowe said he was “honored” to be asked to come down and join. “I have three young children,” he said. I was. “My wife and I know firsthand what these people are going through, especially as we are going through Covid times.”
Rowe attended the session, joking that she felt “a little sore” afterwards, but was surprised to find the baby quietly staying on the floor while the mother worked on the gluteal band.
“Sometimes it’s the hardest thing to actually get there,” he added. “But this is open to the public. We want to hear each other’s stories.”
Awareness of knife crime
In the city of Bradford, the mood is more somber as manager Mark Hughes discusses a local initiative in the Bantams aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of knife crime.
“This is a real concern for many communities and I don’t see it being resolved anytime soon,” he said.
Hughes, a former Manchester United player who has managed six Welsh and Premier League teams, feels a club like Bradford is the ideal size to reach the community.
“We have a lot of reach and when we do something they get noticed,” he said. ‘s fanbase allows us to reach a lot of people.”
The Bradford initiative is designed to alert young people to how the situation can get out of hand and how to avoid it. An 8-year-old boy was found with a knife at school.
“There are elements that think it’s a good idea to carry a knife. But unfortunately, it can lead to tragedy and catastrophe,” he said directly of the work Premier League clubs did in their communities while they were playing. Hughes, who saw it, said.
“There is poverty in Bradford and people are struggling to make a living.It is important that the club step up and have an impact.”
Skateboarding helps refugees settle
Wycombe’s former Welsh striker Sam Vokes kept things safe during action week on the club’s initiative. It was probably wise to do so.
The League One side developed a skateboarding hub for the town’s growing refugee population, as a way to introduce them to each other, to the town and to the locals.
“At first I was sitting on my skateboard, but I couldn’t stand,” says Vokes. “In the end, I managed to pull myself together while still hanging on the wall.
“When I was younger, when I was going down the skate park, all my buddies had skateboards and they looked cool. I couldn’t even believe I was standing on a skateboard.”
Wycombe reached out to newly arrived members of the community through the Wycombe Refugee Alliance, which already operated many sports, including skateboarding.
The club ran it through a local council and found it so successful that when funds ran out, they included it in the Premier League’s kicking programme.
Luke Godfrey of the Wycombe Wanderers Foundation said: “We have seen an increasing number of refugees coming to High Wycombe and are being given little or no opportunities for sports and socializing.
“It can be challenging [to engage with them] They don’t have many means of communicating with people outside of their immediate family, which makes it all the more important that we have strong ties.
“Young people aren’t the only ones getting involved. Talking to their moms and dads shows that it helps them come along and talk to the staff.”
Wycombe now has a professional skateboarding coach from Skateboard Academy UK to help people improve their skills.
“It’s just a fun game to get people comfortable with skateboarding. There’s no set curriculum or goals,” Godfrey added.
However, the skateboarding group has plans to expand its reach. They’re learning skateboard maintenance to get the most out of them, and are looking to plan and manufacture their own line of boards and clothing.
Godfrey believes that smaller clubs have the opportunity to reach out to the community with their initiatives.
“They can see more face-to-face in the community,” he said. “There’s no commercial aspect that beats everything that’s been done.
“For a club like ours, there’s not a huge economic side to being in a community, but we still do it – it’s the swings and the roundabouts.”
Bourkes added: “The community is at the heart of a club like Wycombe. I don’t know if they’ll come to see us on Saturday, but importantly it’s great to see people from all different backgrounds coming together. is.
“They seem to enjoy themselves so much when they come here. They have a great group of friends from different backgrounds, which is great for the Foundation.”
Other EFL Action Week Initiatives
Hartlepool United With the help of the local military, we organized a bowl club to improve the health and well-being of our veterans.
northampton towns Manager John Brady and other top team coaches have launched an NHS health check designed to flag early signs of stroke, kidney disease, heart disease, type 2 diabetes or dementia in people aged 40-74. has been set.
Burnley Boss Vincent Kompany joined a club-run mental health program at a local school with the goal of building resilience and well-being. Claretz says he has helped more than 4,000 of his students suffering from mental health issues over the past three years.
sheffield wednesday Manager Darren Moore participated in one of the club’s anti-racism sessions, which Owl runs jointly with a local school.
Ipswich Town Center-back George Edmundson was, as usual, attending the club’s adult disabled football session when he realized they were missing their regular Tractor Boys jerseys. I had the team kitted out of my pocket.
