Funded by the Football Foundation and the Department of Health, in partnership with the Men’s Health Forum, Ahead of the Game aims to raise awareness through the power of football to increase the knowledge of the signs, symptoms and risk factors of bowel, lung and prostate cancer amongst older men (55 years and above). This is in line with the Department of Health's Cancer Reform Strategy, and it's important for the following reasons:
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Incidence of bowel, lung and prostate cancer increases with age.
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Evidence suggests that awareness of bowel, lung and prostate cancer is relatively low.
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Men traditionally use primary health services less than women, providing fewer opportunities to communicate messages on health issues.
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Men from lower socioeconomic groups can be harder to reach with health messages and they tend to respond less well to health communications campaigns.
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The unique reach and appeal of football could be harnessed to deliver messages on bowel, lung and prostate cancer in a way to which men would be more receptive.
A steering group has been established, with representatives from the Department of Health, the Men's Health Forum, the Premier League and the Football League Trust.
This pilot programme consists of five grants of £20,000 available to Premier League and Football League club community schemes to run 12-month local projects. The five clubs who will be delivering the pilot programmes include; Blackburn Rovers Community Trust, Brighton and Hove Albion in the Community, Norwich City FC FiTC, Pompey Sports and Education Foundation and Scunthorpe United Trust.
Projects are expected engage men over 55, particularly those from ethnic minority and lower socio-economic backgrounds who are more likely to experience health inequalities. Projects will use the power of football to provide participation opportunities and also to promote cancer awareness messages.
On 26 March 2009 an information day was held in Wolverhampton to explain to interested clubs the issues surrounding men’s health and in particular bowel, lung and prostate cancers, and give them some ideas of how they might work to increase awareness among men over 55. Representatives from 17 club community schemes attended the event – there were only five grants of £20,000 available, so interest far exceeded supply for this pilot.
The event:
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Described in detail the aims and objectives of the Ahead of the Game programme.
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Outlined what steps club community schemes needed to follow in order to submit a bid to deliver such a programme.
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Highlighted the best practice from schemes already being delivered.
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Highlighted suitable local partnerships, such as PCTs, that would help with the engagement of older men.
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Highlighted the success factors expected of those clubs successful in the application process.
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Described the monitoring and evaluation tools and processes that will be used.
Speakers on the day included:
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David Wilkins from the Men’s Health Forum. David presented background information about health inequalities between men and women and the barriers men face in accessing health services.
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Ciara McLoughlin from the Department of Health. Ciara spoke about the objectives of the National Awareness and Early Detection Initiative and how Ahead of the Game fits in with the national cancer agenda.
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Stephanie Moore, widow of footballer Bobby Moore. Stephanie established the Bobby Moore Fund in partnership with Cancer Research UK after her husband died of bowel cancer in 1993. She has been campaigning tirelessly to raise awareness and funding for research ever since.
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Pete Westwood from Men’s Health Plus. Pete is part of a hugely successful men's health programme delivering health services to men in non-traditional settings including rugby grounds on match days.
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Suresh Rambaran from The Prostate Cancer Charity. Suresh talked about his experiences working specifically with the African Caribbean community – African Caribbean men are three times more likely to die of prostate cancer, and we encouraged projects to target those from an ethnic minority background.
