3/1 To Win
The English Football League (EFL) is inviting applications from organisations to be its Official Charity Partner from the start of the 2022/23 season.
The EFL and Mind’s game-changing ‘On Your Side’ partnership will conclude at the end of the 2021/22 season after four successful years, having raised awareness of mental health with football fans across England and Wales, helped improve the approach to mental health within the EFL and raised vital funds for Mind’s life-saving services. With EFL clubs establishing close links with local Minds, both organisations will work closely through the 2021/22 season to ensure there is a lasting legacy of the partnership embedded across the League.
In a first for English Football, in 2018 the Mind logo was incorporated onto the name and number designs of all shirts and replica kits throughout the EFL, with similar rights and opportunities being offered to a new charity partner for two seasons until the end of the 2023/24 season.
Rick Parry, EFL Chairman, said: “The impact of our partnership with Mind has been game changing, providing the EFL and its clubs a platform to raise awareness of mental health across the game and wider society. I’d like to personally thank Mind for providing expertise, insight and unwavering support and we look forward to delivering yet more together over the coming season.
“Looking forward, we are excited to see what applications we receive from new potential charity partners – with eight in ten people in the UK living within 15 miles of an EFL club, the League offers local impact on a national scale and is ideally placed to help a national charity deliver its important work.”
Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind, said: “We’re tremendously proud of our Charity Partnership with the EFL. We know that football, our national sport, has the power to create change, not least around mental health. Mind’s ‘On Your Side’ partnership with the EFL has provided us with a unique platform to be real game-changers in the way football tackles mental health.
“From starting conversations about mental health among audiences that traditionally shy away from them, to raising vital funds for our work at local and national level, the partnership has helped us achieve real, collaborative change over the past three seasons. The EFL’s unparalleled reach, as well as the pivotal role its clubs play in their local communities, makes partnering with them a fantastic opportunity for any charity looking to engage in football.”
To be considered, applications must come from registered charities with a nationwide reach who can demonstrate how the partnership will be used to champion a cause that will offer lasting and sustainable impact in each of the 72 communities in which EFL clubs are located.
Interested charities will need to submit applications that address the following areas:
* Why the organisation would be a good fit as the Official Charity Partner of the EFL
* What the main objectives from an EFL partnership would be
* How the organisation is delivering and making a difference to their specific cause and agendas
* How the EFL and its clubs can help elevate and contribute to its work, and vice versa
* How the organisation would work to support the aims of the EFL Trust and its Club Community Organisation network
* How to ensure a sustainable legacy from the partnership
Applications should be submitted via email to [email protected] by midday on Wednesday 3rd November with a final decision being made in January 2022.
Visit efl.com/charitypartner for full details on how to apply.
