11 Aug EuroFIT Programme: European Football Clubs Provide Insight into Health Interventions
New Audit of Current Practice Amongst European Clubs
Scoping activities for the EuroFIT project are now nearing completion, with the final stages of a new audit of current practice investigating physical activity and weight loss interventions delivered by football clubs across Europe. From November to February, Healthy Stadia worked with University of Glasgow and project partners on the design of a new health survey capturing information on health policies and interventions adopted by football clubs, which was sent subsequently to all top division clubs of Europe’s 54 football nations in March.
The online survey garnered a response rate of 97 clubs, some of which were contacting for further information, with another 100 clubs contacted by directly to take part in a telephone version of the survey. In total, clubs from 35 of Europe’s football nations provided responses, with initial findings suggesting a far wider spread of initiatives promoting physical activity, healthier eating and weight loss interventions targeting male football fans than anticipated. A full analysis of the survey results is currently underway.
To supplement the data derived from participating clubs, in-depth face to face interviews have also been carried out with key stakeholders in each of the project’s pilot countries – Norway, Portugal, UK and Netherlands. The interviews have been with representatives from governing bodies of sport, national health agencies and private sector companies who have sponsored sports-based health interventions, and have attempted to understand the operational and financial drivers, barriers and mechanisms to implementing successful health interventions run by football clubs.
The survey data and qualitative interviews will be analysed and appropriate conclusions drawn through a report that will be published in late July. This will contribute to work package 3 of the project which is concerned with the design of a behaviour change intervention programme that will be used as part of a randomised control trial with participating clubs over 2015 and 2016.
