Southend United Community & Educational Trust

FITC History and The Football League Trust

Background and Mission

Since the 1970s, Football League Clubs have been building beneficial relationships with their local communitites. In the mid 1980s club Football In The Community schemes (FITC) formalised these relationships with what, at the time, was a unique approach. Schemes have grown since then with many today enjoying indpendent charitable truat status and all schemes employing more than 2,500 people in both full time and part time roles to deliver wide ranging activity and positive social messages. A recent survey found over 1.4 million people per year take part in activity run by the Community Schemes of the League's 72 clubs. The schemes have the best coverage of any professional sports organisation and reach some of the most deprived areas in Engalnd and Wales.

The Football League Trust (FLT) was established in 2007 to mange community and youth development activites at Football League clubs. The FLT Community aims to continue the development of schemes and fund activites which harness the power of professional Football League clubs within their communitites.

The mission of the Football League Trust is:
TO PURSUE AND PROMOTE EXCELLENCE IN OUR WORK AND TO BE LEADERS IN YOUTH AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN THE UK.

The Trust is a responsive, counselling and advisory organisation, clear in its direction and forward thinking in its approach. Using the power of football it aims to make a difference to the lives of people providing them with the best possible opportunities and recognising their achievements to inspire them both inside and outside of the game.

Objectives

The FLT is geared up to take football's community work to a new level. This will see a renewed and improved national network of club based community schemes that will:

• Strengthen links between clubs and communitities
• Enhance relationships with supporter communitites encouraging active participation
• Help tackle a range of social problems and national agendas
• Encourage more young people to play football and support their local team, aiding the substainability of clubs and their community schemes
• Encourage a wide range of projects including football, sport and non-sports activities

Local delivery of national community and sports priorities

The FLT is committed to delivering on sport and social agendas that are of national importance whilst also helping clubs to deliver locally-identified priorities. It has 4 key priorities outlined in its Four Commitments:

1: TO HELP YOUNG PEOPLE REALISE THEIR POTENTIAL
Deliver new work with young people that furthers the aims of the Government's ten year youth strategy. It will also promote the deliveryof services meeting the five outcomes identified in Every Child Matters and the Extended Schools andServices agenda.

2: TO PROMOTE SPORTS PARTICIPATION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Promoting sports participation and physical activity and in developing "Legacy" initiatives to make the most of the London 2012 opportunites.

3: TO PROMOTE HEALTH AND WELL BEING IN FOOTBALL CLUBS' COMMUNITIES
Help delivery against national priorities set out in Choosing Health and use the unique role of football clubs to promote wellbeing in their localities.

4: TO PROMOTE COHESION IN COMMUNITIES AND ENCOURAGE THEIR EMPOWERMENT
Helping clubs to be proactively engaged in improving local communities and in combating exclusion.