BEST FOOTBALL COMMUNITY SCHEME – NON PREMIER LEAGUE 2019
Bristol Rovers Community Trust
Bristol Rovers Community Trust was originally launched in 1992 as part of the PFA’s nationwide Football in the Community initiative to encourage children to play football and support their local club.
The Community Trust has rapidly evolved, achieving charitable status in 2001, six years later coming under the governance of the English Football League and now offers numerous different projects to people aged from 4 to over 90 years old. We have over the last 18 months expanded rapidly and now have 9 full time members of staff, 6 part time staff and of volunteer base of over 50.
As the charity arm of Bristol Rovers we are responsible for continually developing the community element of our club and unlike other charities in our area, do this by engagement with an incredibly wide range of service users from all sectors of our community, regardless of age, gender, religion or background. Bristol Rovers Community Trust engages with over 3800 people per week across all our differing projects.
the past year Bristol Rovers Community Trust was voted the Bristol Life Charity of the Year 2018 and was also awarded the Gloucestershire Football Association Grassroots Project of the Year 2019
Cardiff City FC Community Foundation
Cardiff City FC Community Foundation is the official charity of Cardiff City FC. Established in 2009, our mission is to use the unique appeal of Cardiff City FC to change lives. Put simply, ‘our club changes lives’.
Our goal is to support children, young people and families in South Wales to achieve their full potential. We focus on three key outcomes; creating healthier and more active lives, improve education and employment opportunities and reducing offending and reoffending.
Cardiff City FC Community Foundation’s Bluebirds Ability programme provides children and young people with disability sport opportunities in Cardiff. We do this through a range of sessions that play an important role in connecting fans with a disability to Cardiff City Football Club.
Bluebirds Ability sessions use football and sport as a tool to support children and young people with various disabilities improve their physical health, increase confidence and develop positive relationships with other participants and relatives.
Derby County Community Trust
Derby County Community Trust uses the power of Derby County Football Club to improve lives and communities through health, education, physical activity and sport. A workforce of 60 full-time staff members, and an additional 100+ part-time workers and volunteers, sees us help over 24,000 Derbyshire residents annually
In 2018, we were recognised as EFL Community Club of the Year for the second time in four years, and also received our biggest ever single investment of £1 million at the start of the 2018/19 season.
This Essentials Life Skills funding from the Department for Education has not only proven the Derby County Community Trust as not just a sports charity, but one capable of using the avenues of education and health to improve lives beyond recognition We are extremely proud of our 40+ projects, but the 2018-19 season in particular has seen us branch into new territories by forming a holistic offer with Derby’s cultural partners to ensure that our children and young people are not left behind.
This Is Derby is the first partnership of its kind in our city and beyond, and we hope to inspire more football clubs to forge similar relationships with their cultural partners.
Fulham Football Club Foundation
Fulham Football Club Foundation, in partnership with Women in Sport, Fatherhood Institute, and the EFL Trust have been redefining the role of fathers/father figures in getting girls active through its Daughters and Dads programme.
The programme, funded by Sport England and based on the successful programme led by Newcastle University in Australia, is specifically designed to support low-income families.
Parents often see their role as helpers rather than role models in encouraging their children to be active. Research by the University of Newcastle (Australia) found that fathers are less involved with their daughters than mothers, tend to spend less time with daughters than sons, and don’t acknowledge their role in fostering their daughters’ physical activity behaviours.
Fulham Football Club Foundation have delivered weekly 90-minute group sessions combining practical and educational activities, for 11 consecutive weeks. The programme teaches girls sports skills through fun games and physical activities and educates fathers about positive lifestyle role-modelling and parenting strategies, as well as exploring the challenges and experiences of girls in physical activity at various stages.
Sunderland AFC / Foundation of Light
In September 2018, Sunderland AFC charity Foundation of Light opened the Beacon of Light, a one-of-a-kind centre that encapsulates everything positive that football and sport can inspire.
Created to address the region’s challenges through four unique inspiring zones (education; health and wellbeing; sport and play; and world of work) the centre now welcomes over 5,500 people every week, to engage in positive, life-changing activities.
The Beacon of Light’s mission ‘to provide world class sporting facilities alongside first class education and training facilities for all’ is realised through features including: a 4G rooftop football pitch; 12 court indoor arena that can be converted into a 3,000+ attendee events space; seven units dedicated to and delivering industry-specific qualifications and skills training needed within the North East; six classrooms/meeting areas; a nursery; an alternative provision school; three consultation rooms specifically for Health and Wellbeing-focused activity; six 3G 5-a-side pitches; and two MUGA courts, all underpinned by the Foundation of Light’s award-winning project delivery teams.
Costing £20m to build, which was raised solely by the Foundation of Light over five years, the Beacon of Light is projected to generate a social return on investment of £73m over the next 20 years.
