England's Promotion of CSR in Sport

Arsenal F.C

On February 14, Arsenal Football Club announced the launch of its new charitable program, The Arsenal Foundation. Arsenal is currently in its 125^th season and is launching this foundation to celebrate the club’s success over the years. The launch of the foundation highlights Arsenal’s dedication to corporate social responsibility (CSR) schemes that can improve its local community. I found the lack of publicity for this launch, however, surprising.

            The Arsenal Foundation will be launched on May 3^rd at the annual Arsenal Charity Ball. This is an event where the manager and first team come together with special guests to celebrate and raise funds for Arsenal’s charitable work. The Arsenal Foundation will replace its existing grant-making body, the Arsenal Charitable Trust. The foundation will distribute its funds to worthy causes, with a focus on helping disadvantaged young people.

I was surprised, however, with the lack of promotion this story had. Arsenal only posted the news of the launch on their website but there has been no more information since the original post on any of their social media sites or more traditional media platforms. Perhaps the story will receive more coverage following the launch on May 3^rd but there has not been much news in the build up.

            Sport PR is still a developing practice, originally only used on a transactional basis. However, these days, football clubs are aware of their roles within society. The majority of recognized clubs have established charitable programs that allow them to engage with their respective communities. The use of CSR in business dates back to the 1950’s where companies wanted to show good will in hope of gaining public favour. CSR wasn’t implemented in football until the 1990’s. During a time of urban decay, government asked football teams to develop sport programs to encourage younger citizens to get involved. It has progressed tremendously since then but the landscapes of CSR in football and in business are quite different.

            Although there are now many CSR schemes in English football, improvements can still be made to these programs. The main issues with CSR in English football are that the means of evaluation are limited and, in my opinion, their methods of promoting these programs are very basic.  

            English football should seek to improve their promotion of CSR programs. A good model to use would be the Americans’ promotion of CSR in their different sports. In the National Football League (NFL) there are frequent public service announcements (PSA) that promote the United Way, a charitable program. The partnership between the United Way and NFL can be traced back to 1973 and the PSA’s promoting the program are now embedded within the sport. The PSA’s highlight the services of the United Way in addition to showcasing the NFL players who are involved. The National Basketball Association (NBA) has a similar promotional scheme of its charity called NBA Cares. PSA’s showing players’ involvement in the community are screened during most timeouts and game breaks.

            English football should take note of the American example of CSR promotion. If more people were made aware of this new Arsenal program, perhaps their opinion of Arsenal might change in a positive manner. What is the downside to showing the world the efforts you’re making to engage with your local community? I am assuming there will be much more coverage on the Arsenal Foundation after its launch but am still surprised how low-key Arsenal have been about it to this point. What are your thoughts of the promotion of CSR activities in England?