Factors influencing the implementation of the EuroFIT lifestyle change program in professional football clubs in Europe: a qualitative study in four European countries

Femke Van Nassau; Anita Huis; Irene van de Glind; Eivind Andersen; C. Bunnag; C.  Gray; Kate Hunt; Judith G. Jelsma; Willem van Mechelen; Heather Morgan; Øystein Røynesdal; Hugo V.  Pereira; Hidde  van der Ploeg; Gary  Roberts; Mauro Silva; Marit Sørensen; S. Wyke; Ria Nijhuis-van der Sanden; Theo van Achterberg

doi:10.1093/tbm/ibac100

Factors influencing the implementation of the EuroFIT lifestyle change program in professional football clubs in Europe: a qualitative study in four European countries

Femke Van Nassau^* (Corresponding Author)
, Anita Huis
, Irene van de Glind
, Eivind Andersen
, C. Bunnag
, C. Gray
, Kate Hunt
, Judith G. Jelsma
, Willem van Mechelen
, Heather Morgan
, Øystein Røynesdal
, Hugo V. Pereira
, Hidde van der Ploeg
, Gary Roberts
, Mauro Silva
, Marit Sørensen
, S. Wyke
, Ria Nijhuis-van der Sanden
, Theo van Achterberg

^*Corresponding author for this work

Applied Health Sciences

University of Glasgow
University of Stirling
Universidade de Lisboa
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
University of Dundee
Alliance for Self Care Research

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

6 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper investigated facilitators and barriers to implementing the European Football Fans in Training program (EuroFIT) in professional sports clubs in England, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal. We analyzed qualitative data collected at clubs that delivered EuroFIT, based on semi-structured interviews with coordinating staff (n = 15), coaches (n = 16), and focus group interviews with participants (n = 108), as well as data from clubs that considered delivering EuroFIT in the future, based on interviews with staff (n = 7) and stakeholders (n = 8). Facilitators for implementation related to the content and structure of the program, its evidence-base, and the context for delivery in the football stadia. Financial and human resources were both facilitators and barriers. Further barriers were mostly practical, relating to human resources and infrastructure. Major differences between countries related to experience and commitment to running community projects, and differences in infrastructure, financing, and human resources. Professional football clubs’ ability to support health promotion efforts depended on their ethos and the financial and human resources available to them. Overall, the EuroFIT program was well received by clubs, coaches, participants, and stakeholders, which was reflected by the many facilitators supporting sustained implementation. For sustainable implementation, it is crucial that clubs and their stakeholders engage fully with the EuroFIT program and understand that for an adequate program delivery their views (ethos) and ways of working influence the implementation and thereby the effectiveness of EuroFIT. An important prerequisite for future roll out of EuroFIT would be a strong EuroFIT delivery partner organization to ensure financial and human resources while overseeing and guiding the quality of delivery in clubs.

Original language	English
Article number	ibac100
Pages (from-to)	212–225
Number of pages	14
Journal	Translational Behavioral Medicine
Volume	13
Issue number	4
Early online date	24 Jan 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/tbm/ibac100
Publication status	Published - 1 Apr 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program for research, technological development, and demonstration under grant agreement number 602170. The funders had no role in study design, data collection, and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to participants, coordinating staff, coaches, and stakeholders who took part in the research.

Data Availability Statement

De-identified data from this study are not available in a public archive. De-identified data from this study will be made available (as allowable according to institutional IRB standards) by emailing the corresponding author.

Analytic code used to conduct the analyses presented in this study are not available in a public archive. They may be available by emailing the corresponding author.

Materials used to conduct the study are not publically available.

(4) Availability of Analytic Code: There is not an analytic code associated with this study.

(5) Availability of Materials: Materials (i.e. surveys, semi-structured interview scripts, and logs) are included in the appendix of the submitted manuscript.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

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10.1093/tbm/ibac100Licence: CC BY-NC

Nassau_etal_TBM_Factors_Influencing_The_VoR
© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected]
Final published version, 222 KBLicence: CC BY-NC

Cite this

Van Nassau, F., Huis, A., van de Glind, I., Andersen, E., Bunnag, C., Gray, C., Hunt, K., Jelsma, J. G., van Mechelen, W., Morgan, H., Røynesdal, Ø., Pereira, H. V., van der Ploeg, H., Roberts, G., Silva, M., Sørensen, M., Wyke, S., Nijhuis-van der Sanden, R., & van Achterberg, T. (2023). Factors influencing the implementation of the EuroFIT lifestyle change program in professional football clubs in Europe: a qualitative study in four European countries. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 13(4), 212–225. Article ibac100. https://doi.org/10.1093/tbm/ibac100

Factors influencing the implementation of the EuroFIT lifestyle change program in professional football clubs in Europe: a qualitative study in four European countries. / Van Nassau, Femke (Corresponding Author); Huis, Anita; van de Glind, Irene et al.
In: Translational Behavioral Medicine, Vol. 13, No. 4, ibac100, 01.04.2023, p. 212–225.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Van Nassau, F, Huis, A, van de Glind, I, Andersen, E, Bunnag, C, Gray, C, Hunt, K, Jelsma, JG, van Mechelen, W, Morgan, H, Røynesdal, Ø, Pereira, HV, van der Ploeg, H, Roberts, G, Silva, M, Sørensen, M, Wyke, S, Nijhuis-van der Sanden, R & van Achterberg, T 2023, 'Factors influencing the implementation of the EuroFIT lifestyle change program in professional football clubs in Europe: a qualitative study in four European countries', Translational Behavioral Medicine, vol. 13, no. 4, ibac100, pp. 212–225. https://doi.org/10.1093/tbm/ibac100

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abstract = "This paper investigated facilitators and barriers to implementing the European Football Fans in Training program (EuroFIT) in professional sports clubs in England, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal. We analyzed qualitative data collected at clubs that delivered EuroFIT, based on semi-structured interviews with coordinating staff (n = 15), coaches (n = 16), and focus group interviews with participants (n = 108), as well as data from clubs that considered delivering EuroFIT in the future, based on interviews with staff (n = 7) and stakeholders (n = 8). Facilitators for implementation related to the content and structure of the program, its evidence-base, and the context for delivery in the football stadia. Financial and human resources were both facilitators and barriers. Further barriers were mostly practical, relating to human resources and infrastructure. Major differences between countries related to experience and commitment to running community projects, and differences in infrastructure, financing, and human resources. Professional football clubs{\textquoteright} ability to support health promotion efforts depended on their ethos and the financial and human resources available to them. Overall, the EuroFIT program was well received by clubs, coaches, participants, and stakeholders, which was reflected by the many facilitators supporting sustained implementation. For sustainable implementation, it is crucial that clubs and their stakeholders engage fully with the EuroFIT program and understand that for an adequate program delivery their views (ethos) and ways of working influence the implementation and thereby the effectiveness of EuroFIT. An important prerequisite for future roll out of EuroFIT would be a strong EuroFIT delivery partner organization to ensure financial and human resources while overseeing and guiding the quality of delivery in clubs.",

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N2 - This paper investigated facilitators and barriers to implementing the European Football Fans in Training program (EuroFIT) in professional sports clubs in England, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal. We analyzed qualitative data collected at clubs that delivered EuroFIT, based on semi-structured interviews with coordinating staff (n = 15), coaches (n = 16), and focus group interviews with participants (n = 108), as well as data from clubs that considered delivering EuroFIT in the future, based on interviews with staff (n = 7) and stakeholders (n = 8). Facilitators for implementation related to the content and structure of the program, its evidence-base, and the context for delivery in the football stadia. Financial and human resources were both facilitators and barriers. Further barriers were mostly practical, relating to human resources and infrastructure. Major differences between countries related to experience and commitment to running community projects, and differences in infrastructure, financing, and human resources. Professional football clubs’ ability to support health promotion efforts depended on their ethos and the financial and human resources available to them. Overall, the EuroFIT program was well received by clubs, coaches, participants, and stakeholders, which was reflected by the many facilitators supporting sustained implementation. For sustainable implementation, it is crucial that clubs and their stakeholders engage fully with the EuroFIT program and understand that for an adequate program delivery their views (ethos) and ways of working influence the implementation and thereby the effectiveness of EuroFIT. An important prerequisite for future roll out of EuroFIT would be a strong EuroFIT delivery partner organization to ensure financial and human resources while overseeing and guiding the quality of delivery in clubs.

AB - This paper investigated facilitators and barriers to implementing the European Football Fans in Training program (EuroFIT) in professional sports clubs in England, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal. We analyzed qualitative data collected at clubs that delivered EuroFIT, based on semi-structured interviews with coordinating staff (n = 15), coaches (n = 16), and focus group interviews with participants (n = 108), as well as data from clubs that considered delivering EuroFIT in the future, based on interviews with staff (n = 7) and stakeholders (n = 8). Facilitators for implementation related to the content and structure of the program, its evidence-base, and the context for delivery in the football stadia. Financial and human resources were both facilitators and barriers. Further barriers were mostly practical, relating to human resources and infrastructure. Major differences between countries related to experience and commitment to running community projects, and differences in infrastructure, financing, and human resources. Professional football clubs’ ability to support health promotion efforts depended on their ethos and the financial and human resources available to them. Overall, the EuroFIT program was well received by clubs, coaches, participants, and stakeholders, which was reflected by the many facilitators supporting sustained implementation. For sustainable implementation, it is crucial that clubs and their stakeholders engage fully with the EuroFIT program and understand that for an adequate program delivery their views (ethos) and ways of working influence the implementation and thereby the effectiveness of EuroFIT. An important prerequisite for future roll out of EuroFIT would be a strong EuroFIT delivery partner organization to ensure financial and human resources while overseeing and guiding the quality of delivery in clubs.

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DO - 10.1093/tbm/ibac100

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M1 - ibac100

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Factors influencing the implementation of the EuroFIT lifestyle change program in professional football clubs in Europe: a qualitative study in four European countries

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Availability Statement

UN SDGs

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