Latest News

FFIT now recruiting

11th January 2013

"We are now recruiting for deliveries beginning in February and September 2013! Sign up now to avoid disappointment."

Football Fans in Training (FFIT study) on TV

17th February 2012

And I would walk a million steps... then I would walk a million more...

Scotland’s top football clubs helping their fans on the road to better health

Scottish men are flocking to their local Scottish Premier League clubs to help them live a healthier lifestyle by losing weight and taking more exercise. Over a 1000 men across Scotland have signed up to the award winning Football Fans in Training (FFIT) programme, which is being run in all SPL clubs this season. BBC Scotland has been following the progress of participants at 3 of the clubs, Celtic, Dunfermline Athletic and St Johnstone, over the 12 week programme.

Tom Rhodes aged 47 from Perth, who took part in St Johnstone FFIT at McDairmid Park said:

“I used to run competitively with Cambuslang Harriers in the late 70s/early 80s, but I had really let myself go in recent years. The Football Fans in Training programme has completely turned my life around. I have much more energy and just feel so much better both physically and mentally. I lost 2 and a half stone and achieved my goal of clocking a million steps on my pedometer during the 12 week course. I am well on the way to recording my second million steps, the weight is still coming off and I aim to be back running 3-4 times a week by the end of the year.”

FFIT has been developed by weight management, physical activity and nutrition experts from the Medical Research Council and universities across Scotland. The team is currently carrying out a scientific study to determine the effectiveness of FFIT in helping men make real changes to their lives.

FFIT Project Manager, Dr Cindy Gray of the University of Glasgow said:

“The Football Fans in Training programme is designed to help men lose weight, improve their diets, become more active and generally feel better in themselves. However, to make real improvements to their health it is important that the men form new habits and keep the changes going over the months and years to come. We will be following up the current FFIT graduates for at least 12 months to find out how they are getting on.”

The delivery of Football Fans in Training is funded by the Scottish Government and the Football Pools, and is overseen by the Scottish Premier League Trust.

SPL Trust General Manager, Billy Singh said:

“The ability of the SPL football clubs to effect change in society is immense. Football Fans in Training provides the opportunity for fans to get behind the walls of the club and make changes in their lives that will positively affect them for years to come. This TV documentary is a testament to the hard work of the SPL clubs and the men who have made FFIT such a great success.”

The FFIT programme has been so popular that courses are currently full; a waiting list is being kept should places become available. The FFIT documentary is being broadcast on BBC 2 on 19^th February at 18.45.

Note

The research is being conducted at the University of Glasgow, the Medical Research Council/Chief Scientist Office Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, the University of Strathclyde and the University of Dundee. It is funded by the National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme. The views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the NIHR PHR programme or the Department of Health.

For further information please contact Cindy Gray: email cindy.gray@glasgow.ac.uk

FFIT wins Herald Society Award

23rd November 2011

The Scottish Premier League Trust's Football Fans in Training initiative has won a Herald Society Award under Health Provider of the Year category.

The sessions are run by club coaches and are aimed at men aged between 35 and 65 who meet any of the following criteria – BMI 27+, belly 100cm + or trouser waist size of 38 inches +. Over the two courses run so far, 412 men have lost 2366kg or 2.3 tonnes and 2361 cm off waistlines.

Football Fans in Training documentary

25th July 2011

Jim Spence presents a BBC Radio Scotland documentary on the Scottish Premier League Trust's award-winning Football Fans in Training programme.

Click here to listen to the full programme.

SPL Trust Champions in Europe

22nd July 2011

Last week, the SPL Trust’s Football Fans in Training project won a European Professional Football League (EPFL) Best Practice Award in the Social Responsibility category.

The winner was announced at the EPFL Gala Ceremony on 7 July and the award was collected by SPL Chief Executive Neil Doncaster.

The EPFL Best Practice awards celebrate and raise awareness of the very best League initiatives in areas such as Social Responsibility, Youth Development and Communications.

Football Fans in Training is a partnership between the SPL Trust, Football Pools, and the Scottish Government to run twelve week sessions at SPL clubs aimed at improving physical activity, diet and promoting a healthy lifestyle amongst participants.

The programme was developed and is being evaluated with academics from the Universities of Glasgow, Dundee and Strathclyde and the Medical Research Council. The sessions are run by club coaches and are aimed at men aged between 35 and 65 who meet any of the following criteria – BMI 28+, belly 100cm + or trouser waist size of 38 inches +. Over the two courses run so far, 412 men have lost 2366kg or 2.3 tonnes and 2361 cm off waistlines.

SPL Trust General Manager, Billy Singh, said: "We are absolutely delighted to have won this prestigious European Award. This is great recognition for all the participants and community coaches at the SPL clubs. Their dedication and hard work has been a great source of inspiration to others and I would encourage men to sign up for next season."

Recruitment is under way for year two of Football Fans in Training. To find out more or to sign up call 0800 389 2129, text FFIT 88802 or email ffit@sphsu.mrc.ac.uk

More informationon the EPFL Best Practice Awards

More information on Football Fans in Training

The Association of European Professional Football Leagues will honour projects in the field of Youth Development, Marketing, Communications and Social Responsibility

27th June 2011

EPFL European Professional Football Leagues

The winners of the inaugural EPFL Best Practices Awards will be awarded on the evening of Thursday, 7 July 2011, in Vienna. Excitement builds ahead of the Gala Ceremony which will culminate this pioneering initiative. The football community and the wider public opinion will get to know then which Best Practice activities and projects performed by the European Leagues during the 2010/2011 season have been selected and prized, in four different categories: Youth Development, Marketing, Communications and Social Responsibility.

The winning Leagues will be awarded with a handmade trophy to recognize their achievements. Its shape and colour reflect the EPFL's identity, with stylized rings representing the 30 current EPFL Members and Associate Members. The spherical form of the golden and silver statuettes were inspired by the EPFL's own logo, and stands for the common sense of purpose and unity of the Leagues around their Association, as per the attached image publicly unveiled for the first time.

Awards nominees

Full results from FFIT 5-a-side tournament at St Mirren Park on Saturday 18th June

22nd June 2011

Well done to all involved.

1 BBC* (team photo)
1 Inverness Caley Thistle (team photo) (trophy photo)
2 Motherwell (team photo)
3 Celtic (team photo)
4 Rangers (team photo)
5 Dundee United (team photo)
6 Kilmarnock (team photo)
7 St Johnstone (team photo)
8 Hearts (team photo)
9 St Mirren (team photo)

* the BBC team included some ex-internationals and were there for the exhibition.

The FFIT 5s tournament winners and runners up

22nd June 2011

The Inverness Caledonian Thistle 5-a-side team FFIT 2010/11 graduates came together at St Mirren Park on Saturday 18th June to play in the inaugural FFIT 5-a-side tournament.

Teams (and supporters) came from Celtic, Dundee United, Hearts, Inverness, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Rangers, St Johnstone and St Mirren to play each other and a team from BBC Sports.

All involved with FFIT had an absolutely fantastic day with the boys from Inverness Caley Thistle lifting the impressive trophy with Motherwell a close second and managed an impressive 12-0 win.

Paul Bradley BBC Sports Producer, graduate of Celtic FFIT 2010/11 and team player for BBC Scotland team has created a montage of the day. -- http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/13846424.stm

The FFIT 5s tournament

3rd June 2011

The FFIT 5s tournament has been rearranged to Saturday 18th June, 1pm-4pm, at St. Mirren FC.

If you are keen to get a team together then get in touch with the Coaches at your Club. It promises to be a great day that'll celebrate the hard work you have all put in!