EFDN welcomes Cercle Brugge to the Network!

EFDN is happy to announce that Belgian side Cercle Brugge has joined the Network. They are the 10^th Belgian organisation to be part of EFDN. The family-oriented association has strong local support and a big interest in sustainability. By becoming an EFDN member they take the first big step in becoming a prominent player in the world of CSR in Belgium. Cercle Brugge, who have not by coincidence green club colours, aspire to become an example in this field of environmental topics and climate change and hope to guide other teams on the green path, they are walking.

The Belgian club currently plays in the Eerste Klasse A, the national highest division. The family club, deeply anchored in the local community, places a strong focus on engaging two of its target groups: young families and young people. Engaging these target groups within the community work is of the most important for the future of their association. Starting from their local roots and by engaging these two target groups, the club wants to excel in executing actions, projects, and partnerships around two main pillars: sustainability and social integration.

Everyone is welcome in this Cercle family, regardless of their origin, beliefs, social background, appearance, gender, sexual orientation, or health. Through its community work, Cercle Brugge wants to offer these people the opportunity to develop and rise above themselves. In this way, they want to give minority groups the opportunity to achieve their goals and inspire them to become the best version of themselves.

The community activities of Cercle Brugge also consist of making a contribution to the social needs and requirements of a sustainable society. The club strives to positively influence society in the broadest sense of the word. Moreover, the Cercle Brugge community wants to contribute to an image improvement of the football environment.

In terms of sustainability, the ambition is to become a pioneer in Belgian football. Cercle, therefore, wants to show that not only the club colours are green, but also their behaviour. A big aspect of the Cercle Brugge community is the focus on the environment and climate change. This subject is becoming more and more important in CSR. Cercle Brugge aspires to become an example in this field and to continue behaving green throughout their organisation and also propagate it in their community work. The Belgian side wants to show this green idea with initiatives around sustainability, which have a positive effect on the climate and the environment, with the measurable goal of reducing the club’s ecological footprint. With this, they will not only help the climate but also ensure the future of the coming generations of Cercle supporters. The club hopes that in the future they can guide other teams on the green path, they are walking.

Discover here some of Cercle’s CSR Activities:

Me To You:
Me To You is a foundation that supports research into leukemia but is also in direct contact with patients and families of patients who start treatment. With Miguel Van Damme’s story in mind (Cercle’s ex-goalkeeper, who sadly passed away of this disease), Me To You is a logical community partner.

The intention is to involve supporters of Cercle Brugge to financially support research into Leukemia. Every year Cercle tries to do this by dedicating a matchday in the month of September (Blood Cancer Awareness Month) to Me To You. During this matchday, they raise awareness for Leukemia by turning their stadium in the sign of Me To You and playing with the Me To you logo on the shirts. These jerseys were auctioned after these games and were sold for between € 6.000 and €13.000.

Furthermore, Cercle Brugge organised a family day for Me To You. During this event, the spectators could enjoy live music, freestyle football, street food, a raffle, and finally a real auction. All of this resulted in an extra donation to Me To You.

Ter Dreve
‘Ter Dreve’ is a school in Bruges for children who require special education. In collaboration with Cercle Brugge, they try to help by making the integration of these young people and adults with mental disabilities in society easier.

Ebolowa

Ebolowa (Cameroon) is a sister city of our city Bruges and for this occasion Cercle Brugge in collaboration with Club Brugge (EFDN-member) and the city of Bruges, has been setting up social projects for the benefit of football in Ebolowa during 4 years. This year the focus is on promoting girls’ football.

Hubert Rovers, CEO of EFDN: ‘Cercle Brugge is the 10^th club in Belgium that joins the network. They are determined to carry out their green initiatives and reduce their ecological footprint to help future generations. EFDN highly supports these sustainable principles and is looking forward to helping Cercle with their local programmes.’