When it comes to improving men's health, the English Premier League is setting a fine example to Serie A, La Liga and the Bundesliga. Going to football might be about to get a little healthier.
A new £1.63m partnership between the English Premier League and the New Football Pools – owned by Sportech PLC - will see top flight football clubs kicking off a campaign to tackle men’ health.
Premier League Health will involve 17 of the clubs currently in the Premier League working with general practices and other local health agencies to engage with, it is hoped, over 4,000 men. Many clubs will be placing NHS health trainers within the stadiums themselves, taking referrals from local doctors.
The project will aim to tackle issues as diverse as depression, obesity and general poor physical health, as well as alcohol and substance abuse. It will encourage men to play more sport and to train as a football coaches, for example.
EMHF board member Professor Alan White of Leeds Metropolitan University, pictured, who spoke at the launch, said: ‘The men this partnership is aimed at are a generation that have very few services specifically designed for them yet face some of the greatest health challenges both now and throughout their lives.
‘Using Premier League clubs sends a very clear message to these men that their health and wellbeing matters, that thought has gone into using locations that they will enjoy being in, and that they are valued.’
