Memorandum submitted by The Football Foundation
1. INTRODUCTION
The Football Foundation is the UK's largest
sports charity. It is a unique partnership funded by the Premier
League, The Football Association and the Government. The very
fact that the Football Foundation exists can be attributed to
both the commitment of the Government and the ability of the Premier
League and the Football Association to sell their commercial media
rights in such a way as to create not just the most successful
domestic football scene in the world, but also the most innovative
sports charity. England is the leading example of a country whose
football industry has embraced the concept of Corporate Social
Responsibility and is continually looking for opportunities to
develop this area further.
Our mission is to improve facilities, create
opportunities and build communities; and we are doing so by:
— putting in place a new generation
of modern facilities in parks, local leagues and schools;
— providing capital/revenue support
to increase participation in grassroots football; and
— strengthening the links between football
and the community; using the game's potential as a force for good
in society; promoting health, education and social inclusion.
With grants ranging from £100 to £1
million, the Foundation plays a major role in supporting grass
roots sport, physical activity and healthy living in some of the
most deprived communities in the UK. Since 2000, we have funded
over 4,000 projects worth almost £600 million and secured
over £280 million in additional inward investment in sports
facilities.
The Football Foundation welcomes the opportunity
to contribute to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee's
inquiry into the White Paper. The Football Foundation supports
its objectives and is particularly committed to the second section
of the EC White Paper, "The societal role of sport".
We are pleased to work alongside the Government and other sporting
bodies to secure the positive actions proposed in the White Paper.
THE SOCIETAL
ROLE OF
SPORT (SECTION
2)
2. Enhancing public health through physical
activity (White Paper 2.1)
The Football Foundation agrees that sport is
the most influential social movement which can promote physical
activity across society. We use the vast appeal of football to
reach people with key health messages, from healthy eating, cancer
to mental health awareness. Our Facilities programme enhances
public health by providing money to develop new or improve existing
facilities for community benefit. These include changing rooms
or clubhouses, grass or artificial pitches and multi-use games
areas.
CASE-STUDY—ACCESS
TO SPORT
FOR ALL
A Football Foundation grant of £911,400
for Judgemeadow Community College, East Midlands, has provided
new state-of-the-art facilities for people of all ages in a deprived
part of Leicester. The new changing room block and third generation
artificial turf pitch is opening up access to sport for pupils
and the whole community. The upgraded facilities have led to a
21% increase in football participation (13.6% increase across
all sports) and 26% more coaches are now being trained here.
3. Enhancing the role of sport in education
and training (White Paper 2.3)
The Football Foundation supports many School/Sport
partnerships and welcomes the European Commission's focus in this
area. We work closely with schools, encouraging children to focus
on their education, reducing truancy and running training schemes.
To date, the Football Foundation has provided 317 schools and
colleges with new facilities.
CASE-STUDY—EDUCATIONAL
PROGRAMMES
Our Reading the Game programme promotes
literacy, through a number of projects, motivating young people
to read more. The Foundation has invested £745,676 into the
programme since 2001, working with professional sport to engage
people in reading, writing, speaking and listening. Projects cover
this full range of communication skills as they are the vital
components required for people to achieve their full potential.
The Playing for Success initiative provides
study support for children at learning centres located at sports
sites. The Foundation has now invested some £4.8 million
into 24 such centres. The Scunthorpe United Study Support Centre
is one example of this. Groups of 14 pupils attend sessions over
10 weeks. All sessions are tailored to develop pupils' literacy,
numeracy and ICT skills and also focus on raising young people's
confidence and self-esteem. Reading ages amongst pupils rose by
an average of 18 months in 10 weeks. 94% of parents thought the
programme had had a positive affect on their child's life.
4. Promoting volunteering and active citizenship
through sport (White Paper 2.4)
The Football Foundation strongly believes that
participation in a team; principles such as fair play; compliance
with the rules of the game; respect for others and other positive
outcomes listed in the White Paper reinforce active and successful
citizenship. We believe that football is a key sport for the promotion
of these principles. We agree with proposals 10, 11, 12, 13 and
14 regarding volunteering in the EC White Paper. In particular
the Football Foundation is supportive of proposals to encourage
young people through the Youth in Action programme.
CASE-STUDY—VOLUNTEERING
AND COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT
Since launching in July 2000, the Football Foundation
has funded over 1,400 community schemes. During this time, the
percentage of volunteers participating at Foundation-funded facilities
has increased by 180.3%.
5. Using the potential of sport for social
inclusion, integration and equal opportunities (White Paper 2.5)
The Football Foundation agrees that all EC residents
should have access to sport. Football is a sport which is easily
accessible, due to the lack of expensive equipment required and
the flexibility within casual games for team numbers, etc. Our
work focuses on harnessing the power of the most popular sport
in the UK for social good.
The Football Foundation works particularly hard
to support and encourage those groups listed in section 2.5 of
the EC White Paper; namely, young people, people with disabilities
and people from less privileged backgrounds. We agree that football
facilitates and supports the integration into society of ethnic
minority groups and can encourage inter-cultural dialogue.
The Football Foundation works specifically towards
the aim outlined in the White Paper: " . . . making available
spaces for sport and supporting sport-related activities is important
for allowing immigrants and the host society to interact together
in a positive way".
We also agree with this statement: "Non-profit
sport activities contributing to social cohesion and social inclusion
of vulnerable groups can be considered as social services of general
interest". The Football Foundation promotes anti-drugs and
anti-crime messages to disadvantaged youths across England.
CASE-STUDY—SOCIAL
INCLUSION AND
INTEGRATION
Kickz is a football programme that targets the
most disadvantaged areas in the country to create safer, stronger
and more respectful communities through the development of young
people's potential.
To date, our free Junior Kit Scheme has provided
207,300 junior team strips and equipment to under-18 teams and
adults with disabilities. We believe in equal opportunities and
provide facilities for the disabled at all our facilities.
6. Strengthening the prevention of and fight
against racism and violence (White Paper 2.6)
The Football Foundation supports the Commission's
focus on preventing violence at football grounds. The Football
Foundation also supports the sentiments of section 4 of the White
Paper, particularly proposal 39 in which the Commission "calls
on Member States and sport organisations to address discrimination
based on nationality in all sports".
CASE-STUDY—STAND
UP SPEAK
UP
The Theatre Royal in Stratford, East London,
was given £29,689 of Football Foundation funding, enabling
30 local youngsters in the East End to perform a theatre production
which addressed the issues of racism and football. It was performed
to 2,500 people from local schools, clubs and residents. The project
was made possible through Stand Up Speak Up, an anti-racism
campaign delivered in the UK and Ireland by the Football Foundation
on behalf of the King Badouin Foundation, based in Brussels.
7. Sharing our values with other parts of
the world (White Paper 2.7)
Proposal 25 of the EC White Paper suggests using
sport as a tool to improve access for girls and women to physical
education to "help them build confidence, improve social
integration, overcome prejudices and promote healthy lifestyles".
The Football Foundation is committed to providing facilities and
opportunities for women to play football. Women's football is
the UK's fastest growing participatory sport. FA figures show
that in the mid-1990s there were just 60 female teams in the UK.
Now there are at least 3,820 registered, FA Charter Standard clubs.
Each week 1.6 million girls play properly coached and organised
football, either through a club or school. Specific work includes:
— the construction of quality modern
football facilities, specifically designed to support women's
football;
— 146 projects worth £12.5 million
specifically targeted at women and girls;
— high quality coaching to engage,
retain and nurture women in football;
— kits that are specifically designed
for female footballers; and
— the development of women's football
at all levels and the resource requirements to support wider participation
in amateur and elite women's football.
CASE-STUDY—WORKSOP
BOYS FOR
GIRLS
Worksop Boys Club JFC formed a girls' football
section to complement their existing male section, with the help
of a grant from the Football Foundation. The club was awarded
£7,890 by the Foundation to support an ambitious club development
plan. The club is offering more players each year the opportunity
to participate in football and, in addition, the Club is progressing
through the levels of FA Charter Standard in order to achieve
FA Community Club status.
8. Supporting sustainable development
The EC White Paper states: "European sport
organisations and sport event organisers should adopt environmental
objectives in order to make their activities environmentally sustainable".
The Football Foundation recognises environmental objectives, as
shown in the case study below:
CASE STUDY—MULGRAVE
COMMUNITY SPORTS
FIELD, WHITBY
The Football Foundation granted £271,597
for a sports facility that incorporates a number of environmentally
friendly features:
— a ground source heat pump which is
85-90% energy efficient. This gathers natural heat from the earth
through slinky loop pipes which is then used to heat the water
used for the showers and the under-floor heating system;
— photovoltaic tiles which gather power
from the sun and feeds it into the site's electricity. The site
then sells the electricity they do not use back to the Grid (reducing
electricity bills and conserving energy). The tiles are aesthetically
better than solar panels;
— a rainwater harvesting system to
water the field and use in the showers;
— kingspan insulation—very thick
insulation block which keeps heat in the building and has very
high energy efficiency; and
— in addition, over 600 new trees have
been planted on the site.
THE ECONOMIC
DIMENSION OF
SPORT (SECTION
3)
9. Putting Public Support for sport on a
more secure footing (White Paper 3.2)
The Football Foundation is committed to providing
the structure, organisation and encouragement to allow grassroots
football to thrive in the UK. The Football Foundation is pleased
that the Commission "understands the importance of public
support for grassroots sport and sport for all".
We support proposal 37 in which the Commission
says it will carry out an independent study on the financing of
grassroots sport. We also believe that defending the existing
possibilities of reduced VAT rates for sport (proposal 38) will
be vital to the success of grassroots football.
January 2008
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