Our Sponsors

The Chairman Steve Gibson has invested heavily in MFC in the Community. MFC provide an enormous amount of in-kind support.

The Willie Maddren Centre based in the East Stand of the Riverside Stadium was built specifically by MFC for community use and they continue to maintain this facility. MFC in the Community is also able to access other facilities within the stadium such as the Player’s Lounge, executive boxes and function suites.

MFC provides a number of complimentary tickets for every Premier leaguer game that we can use as incentives and rewards for our initiatives. We also receive tickets, tours, catering and retail products at a subsidised rate.

MFC provides players to support many of our events. This is a massive boost to our programmes. We receive tremendous backing from MFC’s Community Liaison Officer Diane O’Connell who arranges and attends the majority of these events.

MFC also provides public relations support and we are able to use the expertise of the media and communications department who will produce press releases and articles for the match day programme and other publications.

There are many MFC members of staff who contribute to Middlesbrough Football Club in the Community. On a regular basis staff will work with our young people to demonstrate how MFC runs as a business. The contribution of staff is vital to bring a real-life perspective to the modules. Special mention must go to Joanne Swinnerton and Barrie Stewart who have been regular guests over the years and always provide a quality insight into their respective departments.

Finally we are indebted to Yvonne Ferguson the Admin & Human Resources Manager who provides her vital expertise in his complex area.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Middlesbrough Football Club for all of their support over the years.

The Football Foundation have awarded us a three-year grant to deliver our highly successful "Fit through Football" programme in Redcar & Cleveland Schools.

Their funding has allowed us to engage with over 15,000 children over the three years. The programme enabled children to attend a one-day course at the stadium and was followed by an intensive in and out of school programme which concentrated on improving health and fitness.

Recent funding has also allowed us to collaborate with British Blind Sport and North Riding FA to establish a football project where juniors and adults with visual impairment or blindness can come together and participate in high quality coaching and league games.

ONE North East have provided major funding over the last seven years to set up and develop the Enterprise Academy.

There was an initial 3 year investment from the 'Single Programme' fund. This enabled the Enterprise Academy to lay the foundations for their innovative and groundbreaking project.

The success of the programme was recognised when additional funding was agreed to take the Enterprise Academy to the next level. This funding runs until April 2010.

Precision Training are the official Training Aids supplier of the Football League. This agreement sees Precision Training supplying market leading training equipment to club community programmes across the Football League.

MFC in the Community are delighted to have received cones, speed ladders, boudary poles, and ancillary training items to assist efforts to promote participation in football across the Tees Valley. In announcing the agreement with Precision Training in 2009 , Football League Chairman Lord Mawhinney said "I am delighted to welcome Precision Training as the latest official supplier in the League's commercial programme. The equipment they supply will help our clubs provide even more opportunities for local people to take part in professionally organised and equipped football activities."

MFC in the Community has received overwhelming support from the Premier League over the last 2 years. 

They support a number of projects across our two sites, including the Heading for Health project, which aims to improve children and their families health awareness and health choices, and the Enterprise Academy, where students learn about the world of business and self employement.

The continue to provide advice and sound guidance on strategy and direction for the future of MFC in the Community.

Stockton, Middlesbrough and Redar & Cleveland Councils have been key partners in the development of the Enterprise Academy. They have been very supportive in setting up the initiative and playing a leading role in the monitoring, evaluating and budgeting of the project.

We have had invaluable support from a number of key staff within the Councils.

Middlesbrough Football Club in the Community has very strong partnerships with Stockton, Redcar and Middlesbrough Primary Care Trusts. The relationships started in 1997 when Tees Health took the innovative step of investing in the scheme to use football as a medium to promote positive health messages to the local community .

After the initial two-year funding, the project received a further 3-year Health Action Zone cash injection. At the end of this funding stream Director of Public Health Dr. Peter Kelly has been instrumental in continuing the partnership and over the last two years the funding has been exclusively from Stockton and Middlesbrough Primary Care Trusts.

This relationship enabled the Primary Care Trust to work with the Football Club to ensure that the Riverside Stadium was the first “Smoke Free” stadium in the country.

The Primary Care Trust funding has developed the “Heading for Health” programme, which works with 20 primary schools to try and improve health and fitness of children and families.

We have been able to extend our learning provision within the Herlingshaw Centre of Middlesbrough Football Community Centre thanks to a grant from the Tees Valley Partership.

This grant has enabled us to build three new classrooms, an office and much needed storage space. This has transformed a huge unused space within the centre to become a thriving new non-traditional learning environment.

This expansion will allow us to work with more and more young, disadvantaged people over the coming years. 

The Football League Trust, has been developed as part of the Football League to oversee Community and Youth development activities at its 72 clubs.

The Trust, headed by General Manager Dave Edmunson helps clubs to further develop their relationship with local communities. The scope of The Trust's work includes health and education, increasing sports participation levels and social inclusion.

The power of football , football leagues, and the harnassing of the power of the thousands of football supporters makes a positive difference to the surrounding communities and the countless issues that are faced every day.

The Football League Trust, and individual community programmes can also work alongside Housing Associations and the National Housing Federationto help build better neighbourhoods.