Premier League and Professional Footballers' Association Community Fund
The Premier League and Professional Footballers' Association Community Fund (PL PFA Community Fund) supports clubs to develop partnerships to tackle inequality and respond to local challenges.
The fund has enabled Premier League club community organisations across England and Wales to deliver projects responding to local need for the last 13 years.
Delivered with local strategic partners, the programmes are also supported by current and former professional football players and academy players to inspire local communities to improve their wellbeing, achieve their potential and develop their personal skills and positive attitudes to succeed in life.
Since its inception, the PL PFA Community Fund has supported 32 CCOs to create inclusive environments and positively impact hundreds of thousands of people and communities across England and Wales.
In Season 2023/24, funded programmes use the power of football to respond to local need, including: mental health and wellbeing, physical health and wellbeing, LGBTQ+ inclusion, social isolation in older people, supporting people with dementia, and education, employability and training pathways.
PL PFA Community Fund objectives
The Premier League, PFA, professional football clubs and CCOs will:
- Ensure that local communities feel inspired and engaged
- Enhance physical and mental health and wellbeing, and reduced social isolation
- Use the power of football to develop positive attitudes and behaviours and improve inter-personal relationships
- Support participants in/into training, education and employment opportunities
- Strengthen communities with a culture of volunteering, social action and positive role models – supporting education, training and employment pathways
- Promote integration and champion equality, diversity and inclusion
- Create opportunities for current, former and future male and female professional footballers to give back to their community
Key stats
- 24 professional football club charities currently deliver 80+ local need projects across England and Wales
- 82,000+ participants have benefitted from their involvement
- 170,000 + sessions delivered across 250,000+ hours
- Delivery across 1,900 venues with almost half taking place in the top 30 per cent most deprived communities in the country
- 32 per cent of attendees are from ethnically diverse backgrounds and 39 per cent are female
- Premier League has invested more than £26.7 million into the programme through the Premier League Charitable Fund
