When Football Does More: What we learned from Premier League Foundations
💡 A guest post by The Sports Effect
Previously on The Good Football
October Favourites
The Science of Liking Footballers
Hi all,
It’s me again. If you just got here, two posts in a week is not a normal pace for us, by the way. Things usually roll a little slower (and more spread out) in this corner of the internet.
But today we have a guest! I’m happy to introduce — and give the floor — to Mark Lewis and Toby Harrison from The Sports Effect. Their team works to strengthen impact across the Sport for Development sector and recently published the Football Foundations Impact Report.
In this edition, they take over the newsletter to share insights from the report and tell us how football clubs’ foundations are generating impact and how they can go even further.
Enjoy the read, and I’ll be back with the Good Links at the bottom of the page.
Most Premier League clubs talk about their impact both on and off the pitch, but very few truly measure this properly and effectively. The gaps between a club's intention and the evidence provided are what drove us to make our Football Foundation Impact Report for the 2024/25 Premier League season, an analysis of how these club community organisations (CCOs) are really shaping their local communities.
When doing this report, it reminded us that whilst football clubs are powerful cultural anchors, their community arms vary drastically. Some merely act as PR extensions and as a marketing arm; others are truly committed to changing what community work in football should look like.
Why Football Clubs Matter
We believe that football transcends sport, serving as a universal language, a force for connection, and a catalyst for social change, setting aside class, faith, and politics for 90 minutes. This power makes these clubs uniquely placed to help tackle social issues such as inequality, isolation, and mental health.
However, our research showed that lots of this ‘power’ is underused. Many programmes still focus on arbitrary statistics, such as participation numbers, without considering what has changed as a result of their programmes. Premier League Kicks sessions help to provide crucial access in deprived areas, but without further research, may miss the underlying causes of exclusion.
The top foundations that do this well do so because they are treating football not as an end product but as an invitation to a safe space for participation, conversation, and co-design with local people to invite real change. When clubs share this power, they can look to create deeper and long-term relationships with their communities.
What We Found
Our framework assessed eight key areas of impact across each of the 20 Premier League foundations; some results were truly inspiring.
Southampton’s Saints Foundation ranked in first place; a key element of this was the rare level of full transparency. Publicly sharing stakeholder meetings, lessons learned, and even missed targets. This proof of accountability can help drive their own credibility when reporting on their programmes and targets hit.
Liverpool FC Foundation followed closely in second; a key element to their high placement was their willingness to combine genuine compassion and strategic delivery. Their Honeysuckle FC programme, which supports men affected by baby loss, demonstrates what can happen when football and empathy collide. It is a great example of mental-health work done with honesty rather than a positive image in mind.
Fulham, Everton, and Brentford completed the top five. Each of them demonstrating thoughtful practice and programmes with purpose. Fulham’s Memories sessions for older adults, Everton’s long-term Trinity Project, and Brentford’s Young Voice Group each give examples of how local relevance and listening to their communities can create value and lasting change.
What Needs to Change
Overall, it is clear that foundations share an impressive commitment to their communities, engaging with marginalised populations and collaborating with their parent clubs. However, our data also revealed the blind spots that clubs have.
Almost none of the clubs publicly reported missed targets. Most rely on short-term or donor-led funding, and not enough clubs align their work with wider frameworks such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals; in too many cases, the impact would seem to stop at a photo for the club’s website.
Without this long-term evaluation and community feedback, there is a risk that foundations fall into a cycle of being a showcase rather than an engine of change.
Lessons and Looking Forward
The more effective foundations have key commonalities, one being intentionality; they are looking at ‘football doing more’ rather than ‘more football’. Embedding real evidence, transparency, and collaboration into the heart of their work.
At The Sports Effect, our recommendations are clear and simple: create systems that make reflection routine and practiced. Publish lessons learned, evaluate openly, and invite those in the local community to be a part of the design process, invoking real change around the club.
Football clubs hold an immense cultural influence; if these foundations embrace this with true action, purpose, and humility, they can go far beyond short-term outreach, striving to change the long-term social architecture of their communities. Transforming passion into purpose.
For the full report and to find out how we can help you, please visit our website.
THE GOOD LINKS
🇨🇮
’s piece about the story of when Droga stopped a war — did he or didn’t he?🌸 It’s the footballgal’s world and we’re just living in it.
🐈 The (literal) catwalk that led us to discover that my team fosters kittens at our stadium!!!!
🔥 The systemarosa photoshoot you’re seeing everywhere.
🕺🏿 This steward’s vibes.
🤯 Not your typical “footballers making a difference on and off the pitch” content. Women are such amazing creatures, really.
🥹 This wholesome story that *almost* made me cry.
🌟 This Timbers Army’s tifo is gold.
😭 Luana’s PK goal crowning her comeback after beating cancer. What a moment.
🧤 This former goalkeeper and her intact reflexes.
💙 Sterling actually coaching weekly at his newly opened academy.
COMPLETELY OFFSIDE
Links that are not football-related but still worth sharing.
🩺 After discovering (and obsessively watching) E.R. last year, I had to give The Pitt a try when I saw Dr. Carter (iykyk) was in it. Welp — I’ve now watched all 15 episodes and immediately started rewatching them. I don’t think I’ve ever done that before. If you’re looking for a good show, you’ve found it.
😲 So… Rosalía has a Substack. That’s it, that’s the tweet.