EFDN welcomes IF Elfsborg as a new member to the Network

EFDN is proud to welcome IF Elfsborg as the second Swedish club to the European Football for Development Network.

IF Elfsborg is a professional Swedish football club from Boras, Sweden, which was founded in 1904 by a number of young men. The home ground of the club is the Boras Arena, also called the Elfsborg Fortress and it was opened in 2005.

Since the foundation of the club, the teams have given the IF Elfsborg fans many reasons for joy. The club spent most of its history in the top tier of Swedish football. During the season of 1935/36, the club won its first out of six national championship titles. The latest was achieved in 2012. Next to the league titles, IF Elfsborg won three national cups and participated in European cups.

About IF Elfsborg’s corporate social strategy

IF Elfsborg is not only active on the field, but is also very involved within its community. The Swedish club also successfully delivers a variety of sport based community programmes. In these programmes, IF Elfsborg uses the impact of its brand to reach a wide audience of people for social thought and action. In 2010, the club launched the Camp Elfsborg project, which uses football to create a safer and more inclusive society. To realise the programmes, the club cooperates with schools, organisations and companies. In 2014 the project was restructured, because many different activities were initiated. A business area was started within the club and the project was renamed to “We Together”.

During the past years, IF Elfsborg has shown their social commitment by implementing many different initiatives as giving value lectures in schools, which taught children important life skills. Next to that, in 2007, a summer football school was established. The project is still in place and carried out each year for 2 weeks. Another project of IF Elfsborg was started 2 years ago. The project “Work Together” helps young people, who are far away from employment through internships at companies. The project has the goal that after the internship, the participants will finish their studies or get employed. This year, in 2016, IF Elfsborg started the initiative “Future Together”, in which 10 formerly unemployed persons work, two by two, in five different neighbourhoods to reach socially excluded children with the aim to include them more into society. IF Elfsborg, cooperates with the City of Boras, schools, religious institutions, local sport clubs, etc. to realise programmes. Also, the football club works together with organised supporters to help refugees integrate into society in different ways. Next to that, IF Elfsborg has made the Boras Arena accessible to visually and hearing impaired people and the club takes pride in supporting an all-girls home in Garissa, Kenya.

EFDN is proud to announce the partnership with the Swedish club and is looking forward to successful cooperation.