EFDN is ‘Scoring for Health’
EFDN’s new programme ‘Scoring for Health’ aims to tackle the problem of childhood obesity which, as identified by the World Health Organisation, is still a critical issue throughout Europe today. With the underlying target of promoting a healthy diet and lifestyle amongst children, their families and wider communities across Europe, the programme supports the 3rd UN Sustainable Development Goal of Good Health and Well Being and is co-funded by the UEFA Foundation for Children.
Bringing together 8 community engaged football clubs, 160 primary schools and external health experts intending to contribute to the personal development of a healthy European generation of children, ‘Scoring for Health’ specifically aims to generate a new European methodology that uses football as an education tool to reach school children from the ages of 7 to 13 years old and teach them the benefits of living a healthy lifestyles and taking part in regular physical activity. Covering Belgium, Israel, the Netherlands, Poland, the UK and Ukraine, the participating EFDN member clubs are Brentford FC, Chelsea FC, Club Brugge, Feyenoord Rotterdam, Hapoel Tel Aviv, KAA Gent, Legia Warsaw and Shakhtar Donetsk. While the direct goal is to have an impact on the communities local to these clubs, ultimately the programme is also looking to inspire other grassroots and professional football organisations in order to widen the impact as far as possible.
The programme itself has a duration of 2 1/2 years which will include 2 x 20 week focus periods where participants will receive interactive classes, learning sessions and workshops in school on a weekly basis on topics such as nutrition, cooking and physical exercise. The stadiums and elite academies of the participating clubs will be used for the launch and closing events with players from each of the clubs in attendance providing the children with encouragement and advice on maintaining their healthy lifestyle throughout the 20 week periods and far beyond.
A website and social media channels are in the process of being developed to provide the participants with online resources and tools to support their healthy living journey and to allow them to keep track of their progress and interact with their peers.
For more details on ‘Scoring for Health’ see the programme page here or contact EFDN.
