Finnish football club GrIFK (Grankulla IFK) Fotboll is taking part in the UEFA GROW program, a project initiated by UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) investigating the benefits football clubs’ activity brings to societies in Europe. FA Solutions is sponsoring GrIFK football and helping them collect and analyze data for the UEFA SROI (Social Return on Investment) calculations that are part of the UEFA GROW project.
The UEFA SROI model is used to measure the social return on investment of the capital invested in amateur football. The UEFA SROI model is a tool that can measure the impact of football both locally and nationally based on actual research data.
According to recent results of the first calculation round, the annual benefit GrIFK Fotboll’s activity brings to Finnish society is 5.5 million euros. It includes €2.4M of direct economic effects, €1.9M of savings in healthcare costs, and €1.2M of social benefits.
The economic effects include the value of the concrete circumstances such as GrIFK’s football hall and courts (€601K), the payments from the hobbyists (€1.8M), and the amount of jobs GrIFK Fotboll’s activity provides (35). The social benefits include the value of volunteer work (€900k), education and employment (€210k), and projects and programs (€106k). The savings in healthcare costs include savings related to, for example, cardiovascular diseases, mental health, and dementia. These calculations do not include the social benefits resulting from the activity of GrIFK Fotboll’s adult representative team.
“These results prove that our activity has a significant social, economic and health impact on the area. The UEFA SROI model is a great tool for our continuous improvement work and a solid base for our future goals. We also hope that this will make society’s decision-makers realize the actual value of amateur sports to the whole of society and for this to show in the amount of support to sports clubs.”
Matti Hannuksela, Chairman of the Board of GrIFK Fotboll
This spring 2021, GrIFK Fotboll started cooperating with FA Solutions, a company offering a cloud-based Portfolio Management solution for Wealth & Fund Managers, Family Offices, and Banks. Due to the co-operation, GrIFK Fotboll’s football hall in Kauniainen, Finland, has been named FA Solutions Arena.
In addition to traditional sponsoring, FA Solutions provides the club with expertise to help GrIFK Fotboll collect and analyze data on their Social Return on Investment (SROI).
"The UEFA SROI model is a great example of a bigger global change; actors in different industries now aim to find out the actual effects their activity has on the world. Our solutions in the finance industry help our clients act more ethically, responsibly, and according to good governance. We wanted to leverage this approach of diverse responsibility also via this sponsorship; in addition to just money, we are providing GrIFK Fotboll with our expertise to help them measure their impact on the society.”
Hannes Helenius, Head of Marketing at FA Solutions
GrIFK Fotboll’s activity includes 600 children and teenagers actively training and playing, 100 children in seasonal football schools, and more than 200 volunteers. On top of the junior teams, the club organizes family and “mini” football training for the families’ smallest football enthusiasts, football clubs in schools, and adult amateur training.
GrIFK Fotboll also trains coaches, volunteers, and youth to act in different positions in football. The goal of the club is to offer anyone interested in football the chance to be involved in the club’s activity either as a player, coach, supporter, or administrational person.
“We have always invested in sports here in Kauniainen, Finland. We have understood that on top of increasing people’s physical and mental wellbeing, sports also brings economic benefits. Active sports clubs sustain and improve our inhabitants’ health as well as make the city a better place to live and attract new inhabitants. It is fantastic that the UEFA SROI model shows exactly how big of an impact GrIFK Fotboll’s activity has on Kauniainen and its surroundings.”
Christoffer Masar, Mayor of Kauniainen
UEFA GROW is a program initiated to develop and increase football activity all over Europe by supporting national football associations’ growth and development. The UEFA GROW program enables experts from different sectors to co-operate actively with each other, offering its member associations support to develop the participation, meaningfulness, marketing and communications, and commercialism of their activity.
The UEFA SROI model is developed by UEFA in co-operation with top European universities, ministries and sports associations of different countries, OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), and WHO (World Health Organization). The UEFA SROI model has been used in approximately 30 countries around Europe by spring 2021.
Additional information:
FA Solutions Arena webpage
Matti Hannuksela
Chairman of the Board
GrIFK Fotboll rf
+358 50 553 2792
matti(a)grifkfotboll.fi
Hannes Helenius
Head of Marketing
FA Solutions
+358 40 146 7760
hannes(a)fasolutions.com
About FA Solutions
FA Solutions is the leading Nordic provider of software for Wealth & Fund Managers, Family Offices, and Banks, helping them manage their clients’ wealth globally. We offer a cloud-based Portfolio Management solution that automates and centralizes a wide range of operational processes into one easy-to-use FA Platform. We believe superior technology enables quality Wealth Management services for everyone.
