Birmingham County Football Association (BCFA) and their Save Today, Play Tomorrow programme is pleased to announce that they have launched a fully accredited Carbon Literacy in Grassroots Football course in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University that will support the education of volunteers and players within the region. 
The pilot course was delivered with great success on Wednesday 15 February at BCFA’s HQ in Great Barr to their staff, board members and representatives from neighbouring County FAs, the EFL Trust and professionals within sports and sustainability. 

This one-day course gives attendees a months’ worth of knowledge and awareness of the carbon costs and impacts of everyday activities and the ability and motivation to reduce emissions, on an individual, community, and organisational basis. Furthermore, learners will gain an understanding of the interdependencies between football and climate change, to allow them to take the necessary steps to reduce the impact the game is having on the environment. 

Richard Lindsay, BCFA Save Today, Play Tomorrow Lead said: “Firstly, our thanks go to Dr Graeme Heyes from Manchester Met University for developing the course. We are thrilled about being able to offer this course to our member clubs and the volunteer workforce. We know from our own research that over 80% of clubs in the region want to become more sustainable, but with such a complex topic knowing where to start or what to tackle first can eventually become a barrier. By completing this course, individuals gain a fundamental understanding of climate science coupled with an awareness and confidence to implement more sustainable alternatives at their clubs and in their personal lives.”

Over 50,000 learners are now Carbon Literate right across business and industry sectors, but this is the first course of its kind within football. Each individual that completes the course is contributing to the 100,000 carbon saving actions already undertaken, which it is estimated to have saved 180,000 tonnes of co2e. 

The course will be made available to all clubs and their volunteers over the coming weeks, with a blend of online sessions and in-person workshops. If you are interested in finding out more, then please email: savetodayplaytomorrow@BirminghamFA.com