We are really proud to announce that this week, Kindred has become the first Community Partner of the European Football Development Network (EFDN). Kindred worked with EFDN earlier this year, when developing the Active Fans programme. During this work it became evident that there is a real overlap of values and beliefs between the two organisations, and it feels very natural to partner up for further collaborations in the future.
Using the power of sport to change lives
EFDN is a network of professional football clubs, leagues and FAs who are committed to their communities and social responsibilities. The network aims to promote the power of football as a tool for social development. The network consists of 86 member clubs and leagues, including Club Brugge, Paris Saint-Germain, Rangers FC and the Belgian Pro-league.
CEO of EFDN Hubert Rovers said the following about the partnership:
“We are proud to present Kindred as our first commercial Community partner. There is a natural fit between EFDN and Kindred as we both share the love for football and are leaders in our industries in terms of taking responsibility for the community and contributing to sustainability. Kindred uses a new sustainability-driven framework for sponsorships and promotes community initiatives through its partnerships with clubs and leagues. At EFDN, we strive to raise the quality and impact of community programmes through knowledge exchange and collaboration.
Together with Kindred, we will further develop the social power of football and we will continue to promote values like Fair Play and respect as well as education, diversity, social cohesion and physical activity. Through our partnership, we are certain that we can make a long-term contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and inspire other stakeholders in football to become more sustainable.”
In 2019, Kindred partnered with EFDN to develop a programme called ‘Active Fans’, aimed at making European men and women from the age of 35 years more physically active and healthy. The programme was a joint effort between EFDN, Kindred and nine EFDN member clubs.
Partnering for the communities
A key part of Kindred’s sustainability framework is to be an active participant in our local communities and we have a clear ambition to equip our communities with the knowledge and resources to build a better future. In the of summer 2019, Kindred increased our focus on including local communities into sport sponsorship, particularly looking at including local communities into the partnership between the sponsor and the club. This new model has already been evidenced in Kindred brand 32red’s sponsorship of Derby Club County Community Trust and their Team Talk programme and a collaboration with the Belgian Pro League and Belgian Football Association.
This partnership with EFDN provides an excellent platform to be able to expand our network with the right target groups with the knowledge and resources we hold. Becoming a Community Partner is clearly aligned with our increased focus on contributing to our communities through partnerships, recently evidenced in the commissioning of a report on Men’s Mental Health in the UK.
“We are very proud and excited to be a part of the EFDN network. We feel that the work EFDN do is very important and aligns well with Kindred values. We truly believe that this will be a successful partnership where we will be able to build great things together. For example, Kindred will share our knowledge and experience through developing and implementing an anti-match fixing programme to the extensive network of member clubs in the EFDN”, says Henrik Tjärnström, CEO, Kindred Group.
The deal between EFDN and Kindred will mean a yearly contribution from Kindred to EFDN to further develop programmes for their member clubs. On top of this, Kindred will sponsor and develop a programme designed to educate football clubs on anti-match fixing.
