Should the government proceed with its plans for a wellbeing index, it could do a lot worse than measure happiness by the staccato clack of football studs on concrete, the pungent whiff of Deep Heat and churned mud, and the ludicrousness of everyone claiming the throw-in.
From the Anglian Combination to the Zamaretto League, amateur football in this country feeds the endorphins. As social networks go, the football community takes some beating. It's the national sport not just in terms of spectators but also participants.
England's four professional leagues are just the tip of a vast pyramid of seven million players – roughly 80 times the capacity of Wembley stadium – appearing for 37,000 semi-pro or (mostly) amateur clubs affiliated to the
FA, using 45,000 pitches nationwide. Outside of the professional game, about 2,000 of these clubs have proper grounds of their own, either owned outright or leased. That's one club with their own playing facilities for every 30,000 people in the UK. It is, truly, part of the fabric of British life.
More's the pity, then, that a spot of depressive realism in this new age of austerity is starting to spoil the fun. The superstars of the Premier League
may remain immune to economic downturn, but everyone else is feeling the pinch. The good news is significant, pain-free savings can be made on basic operational costs, but many clubs have not seriously acknowledged or considered them – until now.
Energy auditing is the solution and E.ON, one of the UK's leading energy companies, is at the forefront of a campaign to help amateur teams up and down the land reduce their costs.
Energy consciousness? You're having a laugh! Try another popular terrace chant instead: what a waste of money. Fact: a semi-pro or amateur club with its own ground could save about £1,000 a year – up to 30% of its annual energy expenditure – by following some simple guidelines on usage. For the more environmentally minded, that's the equivalent of five tonnes of CO2. Or, looking at it another way, 40 new footballs.
Getting energy fit
This is just one of the findings from a comprehensive survey of amateur football clubs, commissioned by E.ON as part of its Energy Fit initiative. Its mission: to discover which elements of running a club use the most energy, and see how clubs can make savings. All clubs use energy, whether they have their own facilities or hire them from more established professional clubs, schools or local authorities.
It may be the mere washing of kit once or twice a week. More likely, it's also using showers and hot water, interior lighting and heating and, sometimes, floodlights.
Running to 168 pages, E.ON's report reveals that UK amateur football, as a whole, is likely to be using around £43m worth of energy in pursuing its activities, with £7m of that total spent by those 2,000 semi-pro or amateur
clubs with their own grounds.
You may think that floodlights are the greediest consumers of energy, but the main culprit is chilling (fridge-freezers and chillers for beer cellars), which accounts for 34% of usage.
Chilling requires a smaller electrical load than floodlights, which amount to 13% of usage, but it invariably runs 24/7. Space heating is the second biggest user at 32%, followed by hot water with 10% (boilers, kettles), then general lighting and other hospitality on 9% and 2% respectively.
Do many club officials ever think about the cost implications of this usage, let alone get together to discuss them? No, and no. In terms of energy consciousness, amateur football is a long way behind the rest of the country.
Yet, according to E.ON, the amateur football sector as a whole could save up to 30% of its total energy bill by installing more modern, efficient and intelligent equipment, such as LED floodlights, timers and occupancy sensors, and by applying better controls, usage patterns and good maintenance.
As sponsor of the FA Cup since 2006, E.ON is no stranger to worthwhile football campaigns that make a positive difference to people's lives. In the 2007/2008 season its Carbon Footyprint was the game's first ever green campaign, helping to reduce the environmental impact of the FA Cup by encouraging fans to make simple energy pledges like leaving the car at home or gathering their mates together to watch matches on a single TV.
Picking the perfect formation
A year later, E.ON launched the FA Cup Trophy Tour introducing young fans to the magic of the competition, and in 2009/2010 the Great Saves campaign celebrated the nation's goalkeepers while asking people for their best energy saves in the home – in return sending thousands of families to FA Cup and Football League matches.
E.ON generates and distributes electricity, and sells power and gas, to millions of homes and businesses across the country – and energy efficiency is at the heart of what it does. Less energy usage leads to lower bills, which in turn means not just happier customers, but reduced carbon emissions all round.
E.ON can't promise to improve a club's fortunes on the pitch, but it could certainly make a dramatic difference off it by increasing awareness of energy issues in amateur football and reducing operating costs through basic actions.
And who knows – the money saved might just help towards finding a new young player with outstanding potential. Result.
E.ON'S TOP 10 ENERGY SAVES
1. Install energy-efficient lighting
2. Ensure heating controls are effective and that time and temperature settings are appropriate
3. Install smart metering to make it easier to monitor the amount and time of energy use
4. Fit timers to chill cabinets to ensure that they only operate as and when required
5. If natural gas is available, use it in preference to electricity for your energy needs
6. Install condensing boilers and water heaters
7. Install low-energy shower heads
8. Ensure chilling equipment is well maintained
9. Wash kit at lower temperature
10. Ensure good practice is adhered to – only switch on equipment when it is required
Win a £40,000 energy makeover for your club
Like the sound of E.ON's money-saving advice? Now here's your club's chance to win its very own Energy Fit efficiency makeover worth up to £40,000 – along with a visit from the FA Cup trophy, delivered by an FA Cup legend, as part of E.ON's Energy Fit initiative.
Supported by England captain Rio Ferdinand, a team of experts – the Energy Fit squad – will give your club a complete energy makeover. No matter how big or small your facilities are, or how many teams use them, the makeover plans will be specific to your club's requirements to save you the most energy and money as possible.
Entering is easy – all you have to do is visit facebook.com/eonenergyfit and nominate your amateur club. The more nominations your club receives, the more chance it has of winning, so get your team mates, friends and family to get involved, too.
