BURTON Albion is today joining the other 71 EFL clubs to celebrate The Week of Action.
The Week of Action (November 6-10) will highlight the impact the clubs have on their communities as a collective.
Across the week, managers and players will be out in their local areas meeting participants and getting involved in the life-changing community activities their club’s deliver through their Club Community Organisations (CCOs). Almost 48,500 appearances have been made by EFL players over the last three seasons.
Burton Albion and Burton Albion Community Trust have come together to celebrate the Week of Action with a focus on the work in the community over the week
That starts today with first team players Jake Caprice and Josh Walker joining this evening’s Ability Counts sessions. These are football sessions for everyone from 6-50 years that offers all people with disabilities the chance to play football, engage with other participants with a similar interest and passion to play football.
On Friday we will bring Week of Action to a close with activities at St George’s Park.
BACT ‘s Community Health Walk, a regular weekly walk, will take place at the national football centre and will finish in time to join a training session for Burton Albion men’s first team. They will be joined at St George’s Park by players from BACT’s disability squad and women’s teams.
After meeting the players all the participants will join Brewers manager Dino Maamria and his squad for a wreath laying at the ‘No Man’s Land Match’ statue outside the main entrance to the Hilton Hotel.
As it will be Remembrance weekend Club Chaplain and BACT Chairman Phil Pusey will invite everyone to join him in paying respects to all those who have lost their lives in conflicts throughout the world.
Head of Community Will Evans said: “We are looking forward to The Week of Action and turning a spotlight on everything the club and trust does to make an impact in the community.
“It’s brilliant that it’s not just us but all EFL clubs coming together to celebrate how football inspires people and makes a massive difference across the country.
“We are very proud of the work we do here and appreciate this chance to highlight it.”
EFL Clubs support hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people all year round, with the demand continuing to rise from challenges including the current cost of living crisis. As evidenced in the EFL’s most recent community impact report, more than 840,000 participants engaged in EFL Club community activities over almost 580,000 hours during across the season. In the same period EFL Clubs delivered over £865m worth of social value to towns and cities across the country and generated more than £101m for community investment.
Trevor Birch, CEO of the EFL, said: “The EFL is about two things – great football competitions and supporting communities 365 days a year – and our annual Week of Action highlights so clearly the strength and breadth of the community work clubs deliver.
“Every week players and managers across the League take time away from the training pitch to get actively involved in their clubs’ community work, acting as role models and inspiring the next generation. Through the Week of Action campaign, we’re able to give club community work the profile it deserves, sharing the remarkable stories of those whose lives have been changed, and in some cases, saved through the work of their local Club.”
Cathy Abraham, CEO of the EFL Trust, said: “We’re immensely proud of the ground-breaking work our clubs and Club Community Organisations provide, and the unique ability of the network are supported to deliver local impact on a national scale. The investment clubs make in their communities through these programmes is testament to the value they bring to people’s lives.”
Click here to download a copy of the ‘Measuring the Impact of Clubs in the Community’ report and to find out more about the EFL Week of Action visit www.efl.com.
