Exploring the provision and motives behind the adoption of health-promotion programmes in professional football clubs across four European countries.

Øystein B Røynesdal,Judith G M Jelsma,Irene Van De Glind,Marit Sørensen,Cindy M Gray,Glyn C Roberts,Christopher Bunn,Nai Rui Chng,Hugo Pereira,Eivind Andersen,Maria W G Nijhuis-Van Der Sanden,Femke Van Nassau,Theo Van Actherberg

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0259458

Abstract

This study mapped existing health-promotion provisions targeting adults in professional football clubs across England, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal, and explored motives behind the clubs’ adoption of the European Fans in Training (EuroFIT) programme. We surveyed top-tier football clubs in the four countries and interviewed representatives from football clubs and the clubs’ charitable foundation who delivered EuroFIT. The findings showed large between-country differences, with football clubs in England reporting far greater healthy lifestyle provision than other countries. Relatively few health-promotion programmes targeted adults, particularly in the Netherlands, Portugal, and Norway. Club representatives reported that the motives for adopting the EuroFIT programme often involved adhering to both the social objectives of the football club or club’s foundation and business-related objectives. They viewed the scientific evidence and evaluation underpinning EuroFIT as helpful in demonstrating the value and potential future impact of both the programme and the clubs’ wider corporate social responsibility provision.

Highlights

Health is one of the main domains of corporate social responsibility (CSR) provision emphasised by European professional football clubs [1]
Our findings correspond with and expand previous studies investigating existing healthpromotion programmes [24], overall CSR engagement and integration in football clubs [25, 28, 29, 37] and decision-making processes in foundations associated with professional football clubs in the UK [20, 26]
There were differences in how some of the Norwegian clubs and Portuguese clubs–of whom had the fewest foundations/ community sports trusts (CST) responsible for delivering European Fans in Training (EuroFIT)–weighted the motives for adopting the program

Summary

Introduction

Health is one of the main domains of corporate social responsibility (CSR) provision emphasised by European professional football clubs [1]. New approaches are necessary to tackle the current state of public health in many European countries, as many adults in those countries. Health-promotion programmes in European football clubs for research, technological development, and demonstration under grant agreement number 602170

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Results

Conclusion