Active Through Football is providing Wolves Foundation, on behalf of a group of organisations, with funding to increase participation in football.
The project is targeting areas where there are the greatest inequalities preventing communities being physically active.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Foundation will engage adults in targeted areas of Wolverhampton in football-based activity. This will range from men’s over 30’s football and mums’ school-run football, to over 50's walking football and fitness sessions for 16 to 30-year-olds.
Luke Shearing, inclusion and cohesion manager at Wolves Foundation, said: “The Active Through Football project is a great opportunity for the people of Wolverhampton to get involved in football in a sociable setting.
“It's no secret that physical activity levels drop off once people leave school and this project is about getting moving again. We will have a wide variety of sessions across the city, especially focusing on areas of need and those that may not have had this accessible provision on offer to them previously.
“The Foundation is now looking for our first Active Through Football Officer to deliver the project, and we’re really excited about how it will benefit the local community.”
The ambition of the programme is to increase activity levels and create sustained behaviour change.
Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of Sport England, added: “There is a reason why football is followed and played by so many the world over. It brings people together and helps build connections in communities.
It’s also the sport that is played the most in England and has a reach into places where our research shows activity levels are lower.
“Sport England is proud to be one of the funding partners helping to tackle these inequalities and to support more people from a variety of backgrounds to enjoy playing football and all the benefits that brings.”
Robert Sullivan, chief executive of the Football Foundation, added: “This grant award to Wolverhampton Wanderers Foundation is fantastic news for the local community. Football is a game for everyone - regardless of their background - and it’s only right that people across all walks of life can play.
“Over the past 21 years, we have been working with communities up and down the country to ensure everyone has access to play football.
“Thanks to Sport England National Lottery Investment, this new project will help to transform people’s lives by developing inclusion and cohesion activities in Wolverhampton, unlocking the many benefits of football for the community.”
Visit https://footballfoundation.org.uk/active-through-football for more information on the Active Through Football programme
