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

Friend of the Foundation Land of Iron have teamed up with Redcar Athletic Football Club to create the inaugural Steel & Iron Cup in Redcar.

With support from Tees Valley Combined Authority, the event, at Redcar Athletic’s Green Lane ground, will run on Friday 19^th and Saturday 20^th July 2024.

The idea stems from a conversation between staff at Land of Iron and Redcar Athletic around the historic Bury Cup – a football tournament at Skinningrove’s ironworks which ran from 1912 until 1972 between teams from former and current iron and steelworking communities.

With a firm focus on industrial heritage, and how sport and recreation played a large part within iron and steel communities, this year the pre-season trophy will be contested between Redcar Athletic and Barrow-in-Furness’ Holker Old Boys on Saturday 20^th July at 1pm.

Holker Old Boys were formed in 1936 and are based in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. With a long tradition of iron mining and steelmaking in the area, they were the perfect choice for this inaugural fixture between the east coast and west coast teams.

On Friday 19^th July a free Heritage day will take place at Redcar Athletic with music, stalls, and family activities. Land of Iron’s Mine on the Move display, Teesside Archives, British Steel, Teesworks, Unite the Union, Community Union, and MFC Foundation – including an appearance by Middlesbrough FC’s Roary the Lion. Doors will open to the public at 3pm with a range of activities running until 6pm.

From 7pm, a panel of experts on industrial heritage will take part in a discussion around iron and steel making on Teesside, how our industry helped build the infrastructure of the world in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, and how our shared heritage feeds into the future of industry on Teesside today and into the future.

A chance conversation between Ryan McKnight, Managing Director of Redcar Athletic and Nick Wesson, Marketing Manager at Land of Iron began the whole process. For Land of Iron, the chance to work with Redcar Athletic on such an exciting project was too good an opportunity to turn down.

Marie Woods, Chief Executive of Land of Iron, said: “Since Land of Iron re-opened to the public in 2023, we have reached out to, and worked with, our community as much as possible. Our aims are not only to preserve our iron and steel heritage for future generations, but to engage people with our local history in different and new ways. Partnering with Redcar Athletic to create the Steel & Iron Cup is a brilliant way for us to make history relevant to more people and to celebrate the social history of our area too.”

Ryan McKnight, Chief Executive of Redcar Athletic Football Club added: “Redcar Athletic are The Steelmen and this launch event is hopefully the start of a fantastic annual event that will celebrate the heritage of our steel making and iron mining history.

“We are grateful to Holker Old Boys of Barrow – a town which has a proud steel making history of its own – for supporting the weekend.

“We’re calling on everyone with a direct or family connection to the steel works or iron mining – and if you don’t, come and find out more about our local history – to come down to Green Lane on the 19^th and the 20^th July as it will be a fantastic event.”

Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen commented: “Our area has an incredible industrial heritage and is it important we pay tribute to that history as we also look forward. The Steel and Iron Cup is a fantastic way of celebrating that past and I look forward to this being the start of a great annual event bringing together steel communities from across the country.”

The Steel & Iron Cup football match will take place between Redcar Athletic and Holker Old Boys at 3pm on Saturday 20^th July and will also feature stalls and entertainment at the ground from 12pm. Entry is £5 adults / £3 concessions / £2 under-16s. Tickets can be purchased on the day.

Entertainment on Friday 19th is free of charge.