Memorandum submitted by the Premier League
The Premier League welcomes the Culture, Media
and Sport Select Committee inquiry into the development of grassroots
sport and current levels of participation by all members of the
community.
As one of the world's most popular sporting
competitions, the Premier League recognises the responsibilities
that come with the tremendous profile, popularity and reach that
football has in our society. An independent analysis, conducted
by Deloitte & Touche, of the Premier League and its Clubs'
contribution to the community, found that almost £70 million
a year is redistributed to good causes, with these projects reaching
an estimated 3.7 million participants.
In this submission we will explain how we work
as a delivery partner with Government, harnessing the profile
and appeal the League has in order to secure many positive policy
outcomes, including increased participation and higher educational
standards.
INCREASING PARTICIPATION
The Premier League is committed to enabling
all young people, regardless of sex, race, religion or disability
to have access to a new generation of football facilities. The
Premier League, along with the Football Association and Government,
funds the Football Foundation which invests in improving grassroots
football facilities. So far the Football Foundation has supported
1,200 projects worth almost £300 million. This money has
funded over 200 changing pavilions, provided 100 schools with
new football facilities and built 90 artificial turf pitches.
The success of the Football Foundation in increasing participation
can be seen through its investment in the ground redevelopment
programme at Cirencester Town; the Club has now created ten pitches
for youngsters. One person in 36 in the town is now involved with
the team at various levels, from mini-soccer to adult teams.
Our Clubs also offer community coaching schemes,
both inside and outside of school time, which provide the opportunity
for young people to receive football coaching from qualified Premier
League Club staff. Alongside school based activity, each of our
Clubs runs social inclusion programmes that reach out to those
who are otherwise difficult to inspire and provide football based
diversionary activities, at times of high crime rates, that offer
the chance for young people to participate in physical activity.
These initiatives include estate based coaching programmes and
football based marketing materials focused on cutting crime.
For example, Fulham run Lambeth Estates United,
a project which delivers coaching sessions based around 16 sites
at or near to housing estates in the inner city borough of Lambeth.
The aim is to promote team work, friendship, improved behaviour
and good citizenship and address the issue of inner-city rivalry.
Similarly, Charlton Athletic organises late night estate football
leagues within the community action safety zones in Bexley and
Greenwich. The League consists of 11 teams from 11 estates playing
five-a-side competitions for 11-19 year olds. Positive behaviour
is rewarded by various incentive schemes while negative behaviour
results in loss of points for the team. Blackburn Rovers has produced
a collector's sticker book which has been distributed to most
schools and youth groups within the locality. In total, around
8,000 of the books have been printed, financially supported by
the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund. The book contains messages aimed
at tackling bullying, drug/substance/alcohol abuse and anti-social
behaviour.
The Premier League is also committed to using
its proven track record in public policy to deliver health projects.
Our work provides the opportunity for men, women and children
to participate in physical activity as well as receive information
to encourage them to make positive lifestyle choices.
To illustrate the work of just one Club, Middlesbrough
run a wide range of health projects including:
— a school based healthy living programme
in 25 primary schools in Cleveland and Redcar that is designed
to improve health, fitness and nutrition;
— a Fit for Work programme in partnership
with their Primary Care Trust and local employment agencies that
encourages physical activity as well as increasing job prospects;
— a Family Fitness programme that has
seen a group of Asian Mothers trained to become football coaches
with a long-term view of setting up a local league.
We are currently in discussions with the Department
of Health on how to build on the wide range of health based programmes
already being delivered through our Clubs. This will include the
sharing of best practice between football and other sports, as
well as the creation of a number of new initiatives including
health based marketing campaigns that will reach out and encourage
more people to choose healthy lifestyle options.
As well as encouraging young people to participate
in football, Premier League Clubs also provide opportunities for
children to receive multi-sport training from expert coaches:
— Arsenal delivers multi-sport coaching
programmes to local primary schools with pupils having the chance
to play football, hockey, tennis and cricket.
— Norwich City runs a multi sport Healthy
Kicking Initiative in 30 local schools.
— Fulham linked with Surrey County
Cricket Club to provide taster sessions in football and cricket
during the school holidays.
— West Bromwich Albion Community Programme
have also provided training opportunities for young people to
participate in a multi-sport programme, including cricket, basketball
and football Level 1 coaching courses, with a view to increasing
sporting opportunities for young people in the West Midlands.
Our Clubs are also committed to providing opportunities
for players with disabilities to participate in football. Everton's
community scheme, with funding from the Football Foundation, has
provided specialist coaching schemes to 20 special schools, providing
400 children with learning disabilities and sensory or physical
impairments regular opportunities to take up the game as well
as compete in mini tournaments and festivals within school curriculum
time. This work is repeated through their groundbreaking work
with hundreds of wheelchair users, the blind, amputees and a wide
range of disabled junior and adult footballers.
As well as delivering physical activity programmes,
our Clubs are committed to using the power of football to raise
educational standards. Through football based learning programmes
our Clubs have a proven track record in raising educational standards,
re-engaging those who have dropped out of education and providing
pathways to further education and employment.
Playing for Success sees Key Stage 2
and 3 children visit Club Learning Centres—classrooms based
within football grounds—to receive additional learning support
to raise literacy, numeracy and ICT standards as well as self-esteem.
The fourth year evaluation, published in April 2003, found that
primary school children's numeracy scores had improved by 17 months
during the 10 week courses. Over 100,000 children have attended
study support centres so far and 40,000 pupils are expected to
benefit each year when all the Centres are operational. Children
benefit from learning in a different environment to school and
are rewarded with Club merchandise, match tickets and receive
certificates from first-team players.
In addition to Playing for Success, the
Clubs run their own wide ranging educational programmes, through
the Club Learning Centres or in local schools, which are designed
to meet the specific needs of the local community. These projects
include classes that engage children who have been excluded from
mainstream education, courses that provide opportunities for adults
to receive IT training and school based citizenship programmes.
Some Learning Centres have even employed specialised language
and science teachers to help deliver innovative learning programmes.
The "Arsenal Double Club," sees literacy and numeracy
classes delivered by full-time Arsenal teachers in secondary schools
in inner-London. Each 45 minute classroom session is followed
by 45 minutes of football coaching with the Arsenal teacher.
The Prince's Trust Football Initiative, funded
by the Premier League, Football Foundation and the PFA, provides
vocational 12 week courses leading to further training, education
and jobs for 16-25 year olds who may be unemployed or young offenders.
The effectiveness of these courses is carefully monitored: in
2003-04 79% of participants who were previously unemployed went
on to find work, further education or training. We are looking
to expand this programme in the future in order to provide more
opportunities for vulnerable young people by running education
programmes that provide direct pathways to employment.
In partnership with the National Literacy Trust
and the Football Foundation, the Premier League is also committed
to promoting reading and the use of public libraries through Premier
League Reading Stars. A player from each Club is nominated as
a Reading Champion. The player selects his favourite adult or
children's book which is then tailored into a national reading
list. The Clubs "adopt" local libraries where family
reading groups meet to discuss their book choices and take part
in activities which help them to enjoy reading. In 2004, 96% of
children and 95% of adults who took part in the initiative believed
that it made them want to read more.
We have also created educational materials for
a vocational qualification, First in Sport, which is designed
to meet the needs of aspiring athletes and offers the chance for
those who are otherwise difficult to engage the opportunity to
gain academic accreditation.
OBSTACLES FACING
THE PREMIER
LEAGUE AND
ITS CLUBS
The Premier League is very proud of the enormous
strides it has taken since its inception in 1992 in developing
pioneering initiatives that have successfully engaged people of
all ages in improving literacy, numeracy and ICT skills, giving
a positive direction to their lives and encouraging participation
in football. Never in the history of the game, has football worked
so hard to create a positive impact on society.
However, our success has been achieved despite
the limited amount of Government investment in sport. The Premier
League makes a significant contribution to the development of
football in this country, giving more money to the grass roots
than any other league in Europe. The latest Business in the Community
Percent Club Index ranks the Premier League as the leading corporate
UK giver in the Media, Entertainment and Leisure sector. In addition,
the football industry continues to generate substantial tax receipts
for Government and during the first 12 years of the Premier League,
Premiership Clubs have provided around £2.5 billion in tax
receipts for Government.
Our funding of the Football Foundation has made
a major difference to the development of grass roots and community
projects across the country. However, a recent audit of grass
roots facilities demonstrated a need for £2 billion to be
invested at a local and central level. Clearly, widespread Government
investment is required as football alone cannot be expected to
meet this need.
We encourage the Culture, Media and Sport Select
Committee to look at ways of increasing Government's investment
in sport. As schemes such as Playing for Success have shown,
the Premier League can bring the unique element of the power of
football to motivate to any community scheme. Combining this motivational
force with funding and expertise from Government departments and
other partners and agencies, has already been proven to be a highly
successful formula. We believe that with increased Government
investment we can build on this existing work and deliver in many
more public policy areas.
Long-term and sustainable funding would also
address one of the other major challenges for Premier League Clubs
when delivering community work. The constant search for short-term
rather than long-term sustainable funding means Community staff
time is often spent writing funding applications rather than delivering
community work. Clubs are also faced by the problem of having
to work with a number of different agencies, many of whom are
replicating the work of each other.
We look forward to working with various Government
departments in the future in order to play our role in helping
their key public policy objectives, as well as increasing participation
in sport.
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