A new report launched in tandem with this week’s EFL Week of Action (Jan 16-20) highlights the role that its 72 clubs across the Championship, League One and League Two play in supporting communities across England and Wales.

Produced by research experts Substance using data from 2019 to 2022, the £865m figure is the first time a social value has been attributed to the work of EFL clubs as a collective. It represents the estimated savings to public spending and other forms of social value that clubs and their community organisations have delivered in areas including physical health, mental wellbeing, education and employment.

In the second version of the report, EFL clubs are shown to have raised a combined £101m – the highest amount of funding and investment ever made. More partnerships have also been developed (6,744), larger numbers of staff and volunteers deployed (9,922) and more facilities and in-kind support made available to local people valued at over £40.8m.

More than 840,000 participants were engaged on EFL club community programmes during 2021-22, with almost 580,000 hours of community sessions and events.

Launched in 2017, the Week of Action sees clubs and community organisations from across the EFL’s three divisions showcase some of the most impactful projects with managers and players joining participants across the country.