The EFL supported approximately 30,000 people throughout the festive period, with a wide range of dedicated Christmas community activity organised by EFL Clubs and Club Community Organisations.
Over 4,440 hours of community activity were delivered during the holiday season, by around 2,000 staff, including players and managers.
EFL Clubs and Club Community Organisations arranged a selection of vital activity including:
- Charlton Athletic provided free tickets to families of local children on free school meal entitlement for their "Christmas spirit game" vs Cambridge United on 11 December, whilst putting on a Christmas Lunch for participants of their Down’s Syndrome project on the same day.
- Nottingham Forest invited over 2,000 children to take part in daily physical activities and provide them with healthy food, gifts and match tickets.
- Huddersfield Town hosted a Christmas post-box at their home fixtures during December where fans could send Christmas cards to local care homes, charities and those who were lonely or isolated during Christmas.
- Tranmere Rovers invited 80 local homeless people to their Boxing Day home fixture against Barrow A.F.C to enjoy a Boxing Day lunch and tickets to the match.
EFL Chief Executive, Trevor Birch delivered Christmas gifts to children at Derian House, a children’s hospice based in Chorley, Lancashire which provides respite and end-of-life care to more than 400 children and young people.
Birch was joined by Preston North End’s Joe Rodwell-Grant whose sister visited Derian House until she sadly passed away at the age of 12.
Rodwell-Grant said: “My older sister had Cancer and came to Derian House before she passed away. I had never been here before so it’s nice to be able to come here, it’s quite emotional but a good thing because it’s a really nice place.”
Birch then went on to hand out Christmas dinner prepared for service users of The Foxton Centre, a Preston-based charity which provides support, safety and resources for homeless and vulnerable people in the city.
Birch said: “Our Clubs and Club Community Organisations play an invaluable role within their communities and continue to positively impact and improve people’s lives all year round but especially so in the build up to Christmas. Whilst the festive period is traditionally a time for celebration, it can be a difficult time for many, so I’m particularly proud to see our Clubs deliver a variety of important activities and put a smile on people’s faces throughout Christmas to once again show that football continues to make a huge difference to its communities.”