Football starts conversations. It helps to connect people. 

Many parts of EFL in the Community’s charity network responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by re-purposing and refocusing towards supporting elderly vulnerable people. Many clubs and their charities co-ordinated and/or delivered emergency aid and became part of the new ‘front line’ of social welfare. 

With financial support from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and local partners, EFL in the Community’s Tackling Loneliness Together programme offered a range of locally delivered support services in four broad categories; 

1. Socially distanced face-to-face visits 
2. Welfare and befriending telephone calls
3. Information, support and befriending by post
4. Virtual sessions via web platforms.

We have reached and offered support to over 33,000 clients. Over 75% of the beneficiaries were age 65 and over, 73% were male.   

We have numerous examples of people living alone, without friends or family nearby, for whom our support has been the only human contact they have experienced. Roger’s story is indicative of many; 

We have seen a huge variety of innovative local approaches; Zoom cooking lessons for widowed men in Derby, afternoon tea packs in Stevenage, doorstep visits in Plymouth, online walking tours in Blackpool, an online book club in Middleborough, hamper deliveries in Preston, birthday calls in West Bromwich, online quizzes in the Wirral, telephone befriending in Hammersmith, weekly football chat in Luton, tablets pre-loaded with the software to watch EFL matches in Northampton, activity packs in Burton, cake making kits in Exeter, online seated exercise sessions in Crawley, IT support in Sunderland, Christmas day telephone calls in Wigan and Christmas dinner deliveries in Stoke.