EFDN supports European Week of Sport 2019

EFDN supports European Week of Sport 2019

September 23 marks the beginning of the European Week of Sport 2019. The Official Opening of the 2019 European Week of Sport took place in Espoo, Finland. Our CEO Hubert Rovers attended the opening event and signed the partnership letter. EFDN is an official partner of the European Week of Sport 2019.

For five years, the European Week of Sport has helped tackle the inactivity crisis by encouraging Europeans to embrace a healthy and active lifestyle. Launched in 2015, the European Week of Sport was created in response to the worsening inactivity crisis. Despite sport and physical activity substantially contributing to the wellbeing of European citizens, the level of physical activity is currently stagnating and even declining in some countries.

The Week has continued to grow year after year, encouraging ever more Europeans to embrace a healthy and active lifestyle. From five million participants and 7,000 events in 2015, the 2018 edition drew in a staggering 12 million participants across 48,500 events.

EFDN PROMOTES A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE AMONG CHILDREN AND ADULTS 

EFDN uses the European Week of Sport to promote a healthy and active lifestyle on its communication channels and within the projects of its members. Together with several member clubs, EFDN delivers currently two Pan-European programmes that aim to increase physical activity of children and adults.

The Active Fans programme aims to develop a new European standard and methodology that uses football as a tool to reach men and women from 35 years and older who would like to get physically active again, make lifestyle changes and improve their diets. Furthermore, the programme will see the establishment of a Healthy Football League. The Healthy Football League will be an online competition that encourages the participants of the Active Fans programme to make healthy lifestyle choices and gives the possibility to compete online with fans from other clubs to become the healthiest club in Europe.

The Scoring for Health programme encourages children from the ages of 7 to 13, and their parents, to adopt a healthy lifestyle and make them aware of the value of eating healthily and being active. One of the drivers behind the programme is the recent work by the World Health Organisation, which finds that obesity in children remains an important public health problem in Europe. Childhood obesity is a multifactorial disease associated with a wide range of serious health and social consequences including a higher risk of premature death and disability in adulthood.

How can clubs, leagues and individuals participate? 

• Post using the #BeActive hashtag; Post on health programmes like Active Fans or Scoring for Health
• Post about the social media competition and the #BeActive challenge; Show kids, players, fans or your own staff in action