The governing body of football in England, The Football Association (FA) has announced a partnership with the German multinational electric utility company, E.ON.
The agreement has been inked to introduce a programme aimed at promoting sustainability in grassroots football.
The FA and E.ON’s collaboration, which focuses on assisting grassroots football communities, will implement a new decarbonisation project to assist football clubs in lowering their energy costs while also benefiting the environment.
The new cooperation will see the implementation of grassroots football intervention packages to assist teams in becoming more sustainable, both for their own benefit and to encourage their larger communities. Grassroots football teams throughout the nation will be encouraged to apply for funding to make their clubs more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
As part of the collaboration, E.ON will offer specialised energy-saving advice to grassroots clubs, as well as energy-saving kit packages and educational tools. As part of the plan, several clubs will receive investments in improvements and sustainable energy solutions.
The FA’s collaboration with E.ON is the governing body’s most recent deal brokered by SPORTFIVE, with the two having collaborated since 2018, particularly, when SPORTFIVE was appointed exclusively by the FA to oversee the commercial strategy for the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 National Partnership Program.
Carl Woodman, SPORTFIVE, President Global Sales & Managing Director UK, said, “The partnership between The FA and E.ON brings together two influential organisations with the aim of improving sustainability through the lens of football and its many communities. We are incredibly proud to have once again worked alongside The FA and to have played a part in a partnership which can influence communities for many years to come.”
Mark Bullingham, FA Chief Executive, said, “Our new partnership with E.ON will provide many of our grassroots clubs with valuable support and guidance to help them become more sustainable in the future. This includes working with clubs so that they can make a positive environmental impact in the communities they serve, as well as helping them to save money by identifying new energy-efficient ways to run their clubs.
“We’re delighted to be working with E.ON on this important area of our game, and we look forward to sharing further details with grassroots clubs in the coming months around our new support programme, including infrastructure upgrades and educational resources that will be on offer to them.”
Chris Norbury, Chief Executive of E.ON UK, said, “Creating the more sustainable country we all want and need will take all of us working together – in our homes and businesses and across entire communities. Whether the focus is saving money, fighting the climate crisis or creating new jobs and skills, it’s important to look at the small actions that can add up to a big impact, which is why we’re so excited to be working with one of the biggest networks of community organisations anywhere in the world – the FA’s grassroots football network.”
Scott Somerville, UK Chief Marketing Officer, E.ON UK, said, “The connecting power of sport and in particular grassroots football is evident everywhere you look. We’re proud to be creating this programme with the FA to help deliver meaningful change around our shared values and further build on the exceptional work we continue to do with the likes of Veloce in Extreme E and Nottingham Forest FC.”