Left to right: Health Minister Dawn Primarola, Premier League Chief Exec Richard Scudamore, Sportech C.E.O Ian Penrose & 1966 World Cup winner George Cohen

The New Football Pools has today joined forces with The Premier League and announced an exciting partnership that will see top flight football clubs help tackle the many serious health issues that men suffer.

The £1.63 million of funding will activate a unique programme, Premier League Health to help improve the state of men’s health in deprived areas all over the country.

The New Football Pools became an Official Licensee of the Premier League this season. Today at Fulham Football Club’s Craven Cottage, The New Football Pools and The Premier League officially launched the scheme.

The New Football Pools has developed a longstanding relationship with football and the community during its 85 years history. Ian Penrose, Chief Executive of Sportech PLC, owner of The New Football Pools said: “We are fortunate to be in the unique position of supporting our nations biggest sport through our Pools products - the company has invested over £1.1billion into football and other good causes throughout its history. For 25 years, from 1975 to 2000, the pools companies were one of the only sources of external funding for British football at a time when the game’s wealth was a fraction of what it enjoys today.

”With the re-launch of the Pools this season comes a renewed commitment to fans and their communities. Today, we are delighted to build on this legacy ensuring The New Football Pools is as relevant to football and society as ever.”

Premier League Health will see 17 of the clubs currently in the Premier League work with local health agencies such as Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) to engage over 4,000 men. The project will aim to tackle issues as diverse as depression linked to unemployment, obesity and general poor physical health, as well as alcohol and drug addiction. It will target any men aged 18+, with many clubs placing NHS health trainers within the stadiums themselves, taking referrals from local GPs.

The project will also encourage men to play more sport, think about training to become football coaches themselves, or look to point them in the direction of other agencies that might be able to help.

English males have a major problem with the poor state of their health;

• Men still have a lower life expectancy than women (77, compared with 81);
• Men have a higher incidence rate for cancers and suicide;
• More than 120,000 men in the UK die prematurely each year;
• Men are less likely to go to a GP or pharmacy and don't seem to want to participate in public health improvement programmes as much as women do

Speaking at the launch at Fulham’s Craven Cottage, Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore said:

“Premier League clubs have shown in recent years the diverse range of issues that they can tackle through the extensive work they do in their communities. Many already partner with their local Primary Care Trusts, using the interest that people have in the club to help improve their health. In fact, almost 90,000 people took part in health specific activities at our club last season.

“Only a few years ago football clubs were viewed solely as teams that competed on the pitch every weekend. A modern day Premier League club does far more that that. They now employ hundreds of staff dedicated to running an array of community-focused projects that are having an enormous impact. I am sure Premier League Health will go on to do the same.”

Former Fulham player Geoff Horsfield, who has experienced a serious health problem first hand, said:

“I was fortunate to be diagnosed with testicular cancer at an early enough stage to be able to fully recover and return to playing football with Lincoln City. I know from my experience that awareness of potential health problems and then engaging with the health services is a problem for many men. That is why I fully support the efforts of the Premier League and the New Football Pools to use the iconic nature of Premier League football clubs and players to start addressing these issues.”

Former Port Vale, Wimbledon & Jamaican international midfielder Robbie Earle, who sits on the Premier League Health Steering Group panel said:

“This is a great initiative as we all understand that there’s nothing like the power of sports people to get messages like this across. Football is a great way to motivate men in particular, so I’m sure it will prove to be a major success. Schemes like this highlight issues that many men don’t want to confront. I’ve seen firsthand what great work football clubs do in their communities and the funding provided by the New Football Pools will be of great benefit.”

Fulham legend and 1966 World Cup winner George Cohen said:

“This is a wonderful new initiative from The New Football Pools and the Premier League. Football is a great vehicle for this kind of scheme as it is constantly dealing with thousands of people all the time. Times are hard at the moment, money’s short and there’s not a lot in people’s back pockets so it’s great that a big company like The New Football Pools want to invest large amounts of money into initiatives like this. Football is now big business but it has maintained it’s all embracing community spirit. Fulham and every other club work very hard promoting their community work in their local areas and this will only help improve this."

"The Football Pools has always been around as far as I’m concerned. As a young boy my father played the Pools in the hope of winning £50 or something, back when £50 was a lot of money. It wasn’t too expensive to play either in the hope of winning life changing money. It’s great that they’ve contributed in this way, when people have contributed to the wealth of their company. You can’t help but applaud it. It’s fantastic."

Ten Premier League clubs will start the project immediately, with each targeting issues that are a particular problem in their own area. These include:

• Fulham will engage men in Lambeth through a series of football, sport and gym-based activity sessions and then use Health Trainers and Nutritional advisors to signpost and refer the participants to the relevant health services. Specific attention will be given to the three main health issues in the area: sexual health, substance misuse and nutrition. Shop4Jobs workshops will also be delivered to improve employability skills;
• Blackburn Rovers, who will target men of South Asian heritage in an area where residents are 45% more likely to die before reaching 75 than the national average, 95% more likely to die from lung cancer and 67% more likely to die from heart disease. The club will use football and badminton to engage the men and then promote a health model of excellence leading to improved awareness of healthy lifestyles and cost effective and efficient delivery of health services;
• Tottenham Hotspur will go into schools and target fathers of children in Enfield – in the bottom 8% most income deprived in the country and bottom 8% most income deprived in the country and bottom 15% for unemployment. The project will promote knowledge of nutrition, oral health and physical activity and involve cooking sessions so the dads can put their learning into practice and improve their social skills and improve family cohesion.