Project details
Blackburn Rovers – EuroFIT
This opportunity for men aged 30 to 65 who consider themselves to be overweight or unfit allows them to combine education and activities to improve their fitness levels. Participants mix classroom time with sports hall sessions over a 12-week period to improve their dietary or nutrition choices and then participate in suitable exercise under our supervision to achieve the health goals they’re striving to achieve.
Currently delivered thanks to funding secured via UEFA through our local Public Health authority, the concept has become permanent following a successful pilot in 2017. This was open exclusively to our local BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) community, including a number of men from our local area who are classed as refugees or asylum seekers, giving this project a dual purpose as a social integration opportunity.
Now delivered regularly in three-month blocks, each cohort of participants have seen collective health improvements, including healthier diets and weight loss, with the first group to successfully complete the programme having developed such a strong bond that they now continue to meet once a week since the end of the programme to play football as a group of friends and continue their journey towards a healthier lifestyle.