Eredivisie & Utrecht University present Impact report for 2021/2022

Eredivisie & Utrecht University present Impact report for 2021/2022

This morning, during the ‘More than Football’ conference, the ‘Social Impact Report Eredivisie 2021/2022’ was presented. One of the results from this study is that the football clubs managed to activate almost half a million participants through 153 different, social projects in the 2021/’22 Corona year.

Researchers from the Department of Management and Organisational Science (USBO) at Utrecht University, commissioned by the Eredivisie CV, provided insight into the size and impact of all social projects of the 18 premier league clubs.

“Together with the Eredivisie CV, our ambition is to use a structured plan – in which the clubs are encouraged to think about the strategy and impact of the social projects – and innovative monitoring tools to increase the positive social impact.”

“We do this using the Theory of Change (ToC) approach and associated training courses, linking the club’s public values (the impact) with the actions taken in the projects. This helps the club consider how it wants and can make the intended impact and what data are relevant to collect.”

Jan-Willem van der Roest, USBO researcher

Football contributes to social sochesion, we encourage healthy eating and exercise and are committed to sustainability. Football reaches people who are not or hard to find by other institutions.

Jan de Jong, Director Eredivisie CV

Sustainability, connection and health

With over 8 million fans, 18 unique brands and many role models, the Eredivisie has – besides a sporting value – a great social value. The Eredivisie CV and the premier league clubs have been committed to various objectives through social projects for years. Three main pillars of the Eredivisie CV are: sustainability, connection and health.

“The report shows that the premier league clubs more than live up to the claim ‘more than football’. We help people get a bit of a leg up. Football contributes to social cohesion, we encourage healthy eating and exercise and push for sustainability. Football reaches people who are not or hardly found by other institutions. This is also the strength of football. Top-class sport and social responsibility therefore go hand in hand.”

Jan de Jong, Director Eredivisie CV

Next step in professionalising CSR policy

Thanks to the impact report, the Eredivisie clubs get a clear picture of how their activities contribute to their social objectives and which steps they still need to take in this respect.

This makes the study the next step in professionalising the CSR policy of the Eredivisie and the 18 premier league clubs. Sharing social projects and initiatives contributes to impact-oriented work, knowledge sharing and increasing the social impact of the Eredivisie as a whole.

Main results research

474,476 people participated in one or more of the 153 social projects of the premier league clubs during the 2021/’22 season;
Players committed more than 1,072 hours to the social projects during the 2021/’22 season;
The 18 premier league clubs together spent over €4.6 million, excluding associated staff costs, on the social projects in season 2021/’22;
47% of the Dutch considered the Eredivisie to be socially engaged in the 2021/’22 season. This is an 8% increase from the beginning of the season.

See the whole report by clicking here (Dutch version)