MFC Foundation are helping fans to tackle their weight, get healthier and be happier by joining FIT FANS, a free 12 week programme at the Riverside Stadium.

Launched in January 2020 at 30 Clubs in England, the EFL Trust’s FIT FANS programme is supported by over £2.25 million of National Lottery funding from Sport England and aims to use the magnetism of football to tackle obesity levels in over 10,000 fans across the UK.

36.4 million people (61.4% of England’s population) live within 10 miles of an EFL ground, with four in 10 residents within this catchment area falling into the most-deprived population groups.

Sport England has identified lower physical activity participation rates among people living on low incomes and that is why they have joined forces with the EFL Trust network to help people create a long-term healthy and active lifestyle.  FIT FANS is one of a number of initiatives to tackle lower physical activity participation rates among people living on low incomes, which is one of Sport England’s key priorities.

FIT FANS is the operating name in England and Wales for Football Fans in Training, which was created in a Scotland by the University of Glasgow and the Scottish Professional Football League Trust.

The programme shows individuals how to:

• Improve their eating habits by reducing portion sizes and swapping fatty and sugary foods for fruit, vegetables and high fibre foods
• Achieve at least 45 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most days of the week. They receive weekly exercise sessions at their club for 12 weeks, and follow a personal pedometer based walking programme that encourages them to fit physical activity into their daily lives
• Use tried-and-tested behaviour change techniques to become more active and improve their diet. These include regular self-monitoring of their weight and pedometer step counts and setting SMART goals to make changes that can be sustained long term.

The 12 week programme gives fans unprecedented access to their club and a look behind the scenes.

For more information on the FIT BORO programme please contact paul.south@mfcfoundation.co.uk

A highly competitive day combined with laughter and fun, as six local Premier League Kicks sides were invited to Middlesbrough College for an Easter tournament.

Teams representing our King’s Academy, Acklam Green, East Cleveland, Redcar, Teesside University, and Herlingshaw sites battled it out for silverware and bragging rights amongst their fellow local PL Kicks groups.

Facing each other in a round robin format, the top four sides were placed into the semi-final stages, with the winners of both one-legged matches shaping up the final. Acklam and East Cleveland were the unfortunate sides missing out on the knockout stage.

Both semi-finals were tight affairs as Redcar and King’s Academy snuck past Herlingshaw and Teesside University respectively; both matches ended 1-0.

And in a hotly contested finale, penalties were needed to decide the victor – King’s Academy crowned the winners on spot kicks following a 1-1 stalemate.

Here’s our gallery of the day…