Wakefield is taking part in the Sport England and Football Foundation’s Active Through Football scheme. There are a range of different activities run in deprived areas of district, including a number specifically targeting men. This also includes a 10-week fitness and lifestyle programme aimed at inactive over 30-year-olds and a initiatives aimed at older people.
Wakefield Council has teamed up with Sport England and the Football Foundation to run the Active Through Football scheme. Funding is provided from the National Lottery through Sport England to develop programmes to get people active in the most deprived parts of the district.
The council coordinates the work in eight neighbourhoods in the south of the district alongside key local partners, Frickley Athletic Foundation, NLY Community Sport and The Coalfields Regeneration Trust.
Council Sport and Physical Activity Development Manager Alastair Wood said: “The south of Wakefield is where some of our most deprived neighbourhoods are and where people are least active. We wanted to focus our attention on the areas where the programme could have the biggest difference.”
‘I’ve seen big improvement’
The programme launched two years ago and is funded until 2027. There are currently more than 20 different groups run each week with a number specifically targeting men. This includes the Fit Reds programme run in partnership with Barnsley FC Community Trust for inactive men aged over 30.
Fit Reds is a 10-week programme of workshops with participants given sessions on healthy lifestyles followed by an activity over the course of two hours. A range of topics are covered during the programme, including healthy eating, sugar and alcohol consumption. The physical activity also varies with football played alongside weights sessions and boxercise.
It is aimed at men who are not currently taking part in any physical activity and do not feel ready to take part in one of the drop-in activities run through the Active Through Football scheme.
Sean Margison, from Barnsley FC Community Trust, said while the programme has a set structure during the 10 weeks it remains pretty informal. “We want them to enjoy it first and foremost. If they can lose some weight then that is great, but we don’t set targets. We leave it to them. Some will want to lose some centimetres around the waist, but there are plenty who just wanted to get active and extend their social circle. It ticks a lot of boxes – both physically and mental.”
Since it was launched last year, around 25 men have taken part. Scott (not his real name) is one of them. He said: “I’ve seen a big improvement. My blood pressure has dropped. I’ve met a great set of guys and the people who run it are spot on.”
‘Easy for men to become inactive’
Once men have completed the programme, they are encouraged to remain active. They are offered an eight-week free gym pass and signposted to the other activities that are available. These include a Back to Football group on Monday evenings, which regularly attracts more than 30 men.
Mr Wood said: “What we have found with men is that it is so easy for them to get out of the cycle of being active, especially in our most deprived neighbourhoods. A greater proportion will work in manual, physical professions and they obviously worry about getting injured and not being able to work.
“Fatherhood is often a factor too. They will be busy running around after the kids and stop doing things for themselves. This can have an impact emotionally and leave men very isolated. It can be very hard to break that cycle, which is why Fit Reds works so well. Participants are provided with a lot of support to start with and as they go on they often develop close bonds with the other men taking part and can use it as a stepping stone to get involved in other activities.”
But the Active Through Football programme – despite its name – is not just focussed on football. There are a range of different activities available, including running groups, organised walks and parent and toddler sessions.
Council Sport and Physical Activity Service Manager Kov Bahadori said: “Sometimes football is not the immediate answer and the thought of competitive sport can put some people off. So we have developed a whole range of different offers.
“You have to find different ways of appealing to people and listen to what local people want. We are really guided by input from our partners and those that get involved.”
Push to engage older residents
The programme has also started exploring ways to get older residents active. Weekly social clubs were set up at the start of this year at two assisted living centres, where residents get the chance to meet weekly for a coffee or tea and play darts or indoor curling.
Mark Wozniak, the council’s Active Through Football Project Manager, said: “We realised we had to do something to target the older residents in these communities. We have had great success in getting men in their 30s and 40s involved in our groups.
“I think the older men did not have the confidence – they thought they could no longer be active. So we are getting them together and socialising at the social clubs.
“At the clubs we are talking to them about getting involved in some of the activities like the walks and we have just set up a weekly football group for the over 50s called Life in the Old Dogs.
“Men tend to be particularly hard to engage. They don’t pay much attention to social media or notices - word-of-mouth is much more effective so it takes time to get them involved.”