EFL report reveals social value and impact of its clubs in the community

The English Football League has launched a new report highlighting the significant role that its 72 Clubs play in supporting communities across England and Wales.  Produced by research experts Substance using data from 2019 to 2022, the report shows that EFL Clubs and their Club Community Organisations (CCOs) generated more than £865m of social value to towns and cities across the country through community programmes during the 2021/22 season. 

This is the first time a social value has been attributed to the work of EFL Clubs as a collective. It represents the estimated savings to public spending and other forms of social value that Clubs and CCOs have delivered in areas including physical health, mental wellbeing, education and employment.  

In the second version of the ‘Measuring the Impact of EFL Clubs in the Community’ report, EFL Clubs are shown to be responding to the needs of their communities at an unprecedented scale with more funding and investment raised than ever before (£101m), more partnerships developed (6,744), larger numbers of staff and volunteers deployed (9,922) and more facilities and in-kind support made available to local people valued at over £40.8m (£40,848,263). 

The reach of community work delivered by EFL Clubs is substantial and during the 2021/22 season, over 840,000 participants were engaged on EFL Club community programmes over almost 580,000 hours of community sessions and events – this is an 11 percent increase on 2018/19. Updated figures show that 80 per cent of the population (47.6m people) in England and Wales live within 15 miles of an EFL Club, a reminder that EFL Clubs are important civic institutions that impact the lives of people around the country. Most recently, this was demonstrated through the ‘Together – Supporting Communities’ initiative where Clubs and CCOs united to roll out initiatives to support those hit hardest by the cost of living crisis.    

The report also quantifies the significant impact that Clubs had in their communities during the pandemic period with over 40,600 community members engaged in 8,752 COVID-19-related sessions and events resulting in more than 42,000 hours of support.