IF Elfsborg introduces their CSR strategy and gives an insight into their social and community projects

IF Elfsborg introduces their CSR strategy and gives an insight into their social and community projects

The ‘We Together’ business

The ‘We Together’ business area represents the vast amount of work that IF Elfsborg has developed, supported and promoted away from the professional football arena. Conceived in 2009 as ‘Camp Elfsborg’ the ‘We Together’ then as a project, has expanded exponentially over the years, continuously evolving and developing its content and infrastructure to support those within our community who are most in need. As one of the foremost leading football brands in Sweden, IF Elfsborg along with its associate partners has the responsibility and power to open a whole world of opportunities for those seeking help or progression. As highlighted we do not do this alone and with the generous co operational support of national organisations, local business, regional municipality and other clubs (in all sports) the ‘We Together’ business area continues to impress and influence positive community action.

Our Project Mantra “more football and a safer society” emanates through our core values:

• We reject violence, bullying, racism, drugs and doping
• We must work together to be successful
• Our motto is attitude, responsibility and respect, that is how we want to be to each other and to our opponents.

Together can we make a difference?

From the planning phase in 2009, IF Elfsborg first engaged its community activities in 2010 with the launch of ‘Camp Elfsborg’ which focused the its attention on helping local sports clubs to recognise local social and cultural issue whilst developing the necessary CSR strategies to effect long term positive change.
We also developed the full time role of Supporter Liaison Officer (SLO) which provided us with the opportunity to get deep into the heart of the IF Elfsborg and wider Boras city community. Due to our proactively, creativity and existing platform many different activities were added to the ‘Camp Elfsborg’ remit and in 2013 IF Elfsborg decided to support and increase the organisational structure of ‘Camp Elfsborg’ renaming the project ‘We Together’ to further spread the clubs core values and it also became a business area within the club.

The ‘We Together’ was subsequently divided into three integral parts:

• Camp Elfsborg
• Social Responsibility
• Supporter Relations

Our purpose has always been the same, to provide more opportunities for football participation whilst serving to create a safer society. We know that IF Elfsborg have the ability to create opportunities that other regional organisations cannot. We can and will continue to create wonderful partnerships that positively influence the local football community and the wider social demographic. We feel passionately obligated to use our social and corporate position for the greater good. Along with The City of Boras, the business community, organisations, and people around us, we see a tremendous opportunity to contribute to a positive development in our society.

We work towards:

• More young people participating within and benefitting from the football industry
• That we can increase the number of people socially and physically active within Boras city
• Everyone feeling safe and secure within local society
• Improving the attendance at matches staged at the Boras Arena creating a closer more spirited sense of community togetherness
• The audience feels safe during the games and look forward to coming back to Boras Arena

We believe in a society that is built on joy, participation and solidarity, where everyone can participate and contribute, but also where all are invited and feel safe.

Camp Elfsborg

The whole region is our youth section. Through our experiences we believe that the wider sports industry needs to positively change in order to engage the legacy of participation from our next generation. We at IF Elfsborg focus mainly on football, because it’s our sport. Through ‘Camp Elfsborg’ we motivate and engage member clubs and their leaders to develop and focus forward towards the future. Through resource, seminars, inspiration training and activities sessions, we hope that member clubs will develop the strategies necessary to attract more young people to play football. We also want all children to continue participating for the longer term so we can offer sport as a place to realise their wider human potential. Together with local schools, we run the project “football in school”. We have an annual summer football school with about 200-250 participants attending at our facilities. We always want to expand the remit of football within our region and therefore we successfully supported the launch of ‘girls only’ activities during 2015. We are proud of our unique youth section, which is now open to all boys and girls up to 15 years.

In addition, we operate Camp Elfsborg Girls Academy which is a collaboration between 14 clubs and IF Elfsborg. It is the first time in Boras that so many clubs are collaborating on a project. The aim is to increase the number of girl´s players and female leaders, but also to provide girls between 15 to 17 years the chance to get extra training and education.

Instead of in early years focus on elite investment we concentrate our work within an all inclusive and fair football policy where everyone can join in and play as equals. We see the region as our youth section and want all young people to feel welcome in our up to 15 years’ business.

Social Responsibility

Through our brand, we have a unique opportunity to influence and create synergies. We want to do good things that contribute to developing our society in the right direction. We have a proven track record working with our partners to create a safer society where more people feel included rather than excluded.

“We are engaged in many activities and projects, and below are some of them”

• Good friend, were we engage more than 2000 children every year.
• Lectures on values for more than 50 school classes every year
• We offer summer jobs for young people
• We are helping to drive ‘Give racism the red card’ “

We run with the City of Boras” Work Together” where we support young people in exclusion to find work experiences within a local business or organisation. The aim is to give young people an insight into working life whilst improve their CV. Most importantly of all is that they get the motivation to develop a resume, complete their studies and fulfil their potential.

‘Work Together’ is part of the wider ESF (European Social Fund) project, POINT. As a European project POINT also includes the cooperation of football clubs from other European countries and therefore we turn to you with a request for such a partnership.

This is also important for us as a club in other respects. We run a project “Future Together” with the City of Boras, where we project employs a number of unemployed people. We train and support them to be able to work for a year helping young people in exclusion to find friends, interests and activities. We collaborate with a social association, Våga Satsa Vinn (Dare Bet Win), to include disabled people in meaningful work and leisure. We have for instance developed the Boras Arena to maximise the experience for those with visual and hearing impairment. We are engaged in Garissa Foundation which has the aim of giving girls protection and education in Kenya. We are in the planning phase to start football for the disabled and also to start a new project were some of our youth trainers will participate in schools physical training as motivating teachers but also educate about nutrition and sleeping.

Supporter Relations

A Guligan (the name of our organized supporters) can love anyone. The supporters are our main support. Their presence creates and gives us the ability to win games both on and off the field. Our cooperation with Guligan is extremely important and we are keen to understand the nature of the organisation and respect each other’s rights and opinions. Our supporters are all who are cheering for IF Elfsborg. They can be connected to the supporter’s clubs, our sponsors and others who in any way follow IF Elfsborg. Obviously, we see even those who have no connection to us as our supporters.

• “We support the tifo group and Young Supporters
• We have together with Guliganerna raised over one million crowns to the Swedish Cancer Foundation
• We arrange We Together travels together with Guliganerna every year to some away games.
• We arrange “Zoo Day” which has about 12,000 visitors each year.
• We are working for an inclusive stand environment where the aim is to strengthen the fellowship.
• We work against homophobia and racism.
• We have dialogue meetings with our supporters.
• We are committed to Guliganernas project LikaOlika, which invites socially exposed to football games and friendship.”