News article
French clubs continue to advance CSR efforts
Ligue de Football Professionnel, or LFP as it is commonly referred to, has published its eighth report around the sustainability efforts of the football governing body, as well as Ligue 1 and 2 clubs.
Titled ‘Play it Collective!’, the report details initiatives from French professional clubs around themes such as child protection, diversity, the fight against discrimination and violence, accessibility, health and ecological efforts.
All clubs in Ligue 1 and 2 have committed to CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programmes, and supported 1,825 organisations throughout the 2023-24 football season.
The LFP also organised championship days dedicated to child protection, support for the Bleuet de France (in the memory of veterans and victims of war), the International Day for Women’s Rights, and the fight against racism, anti-semitism and homophobia. Elsewhere, the LFP organised the third edition of the Children’s Defenders Tournament and the Caregivers’ Tournament.
As part of its ambitions to combat discrimination, and sexist and sexual violence, the LFP organised 62 awareness workshops against discrimination across 23 different clubs, as well as 29 prevention workshops against sexist and sexual violence in 12 different clubs among professional footballers.
Last season saw the launch of its first digital campaign dedicated to accessibility for spectators with disabilities. LFP highlighted the stadiums in Ligue 1 and 2 that have improved access, with the campaign further integrated into the Match Operations Guide. A European project led by AccessibAll has helped to identify the main obstacles for accessibility at stadiums.
The LFP has also focussed on ecological aspects, and participated in the French Energy Savings Championship for the first time. It was rewarded for its efforts to mobilise the football sector in France.
LFP continued to promote sustainable mobility to access venues in an extended partnership with StadiumGO, while 71% of clubs were in the process of completing a report around their carbon footprint. Half of the clubs in Ligue 1 and 2 were conducting an energy audit.
Image: Sebastian Pociecha on Unsplash