Rangers Charity Foundation participates in new EFDN Active Fans programme

Rangers Charity Foundation participates in new EFDN Active Fans programme

The Rangers Charity Foundation has been selected as a key partner in a bid to develop a European programme which aims to get football fans fitter. The Foundation is the only Scottish club set to take part in the European Football for Development Network’s (EFDN) Active Fans Programme /Healthy Football League.

Other collaborators in the Erasmus+ funded programme are the SPFL Trust, Fulham FC Foundation, Vitesse Betrokken, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Ferencváros TC, NEC Nijmegen, Feyenoord Rotterdam, KAA Gent and Vålerenga Fotball.

The programme, which will run until June 2020 aims to develop a new European standard and methodology that uses football as a tool to reach men and women from 35 years and older who would like to get physically active again, make lifestyle changes and improve their diets.
Within the Active Fans programme, the participants, who will attend sessions at Ibrox, will receive the opportunity to learn about nutrition, get physically active and start to feel the benefits of weight loss and increased energy.

Developing a common methodology

Thanks to Scottish Government support via the SPFL Trust the Rangers Charity Foundation along with other Scottish clubs and foundations has had great success with Football Fans in Training (FFIT), but the EFDN Active Fans Programme will look to develop a common methodology which could be rolled out across Europe.

The programme will see a Healthy Football League established. The Healthy Football League will be an online competition that encourages the participants of the Active Fans programme to make healthy lifestyle choices and gives the possibility to compete online with fans from other clubs to become the healthiest club in Europe. All participants will act as a player in an online app and can score points for their club, long after they have finalised their 12 week programme.

The Healthy Football League website and online app will make it easy to track exercise and it will be simple to use – the more they train, the more points they score to beat the fans of other clubs in the competition.

The project also follows the goal of training the staff members of the participating clubs in this new approach. Additionally, a Healthy Football League Practitioners Guide and ‘Train the Trainer’ course will be developed and made freely accessible for all organisations in Europe including local authorities, football clubs, sport clubs and sport governing bodies etc.

Rangers Charity Foundation Director Connal Cochrane said: “The Foundation is delighted to be a participant in this exciting programme and looks forward to helping even more fans get fit and working alongside clubs from across Europe to help make Active Fans Europe a success.”