Background and problem definition
SFV Quality Club is a club development programme for amateur football clubs that was launched by the SFV in January 2022. The comprehensive club development programme includes club-specific and professional mentoring support with a detailed club analysis, strategy development and action planning. The clubs are further supported by a comprehensive range of training and advisory services as well as the "SFV Quality Club" certification in recognition of exemplary club work. The clubs benefit from individual and customised support.
During a two-year pilot phase, the programme was tested and further developed together with 24 pilot clubs. As of today, twelve clubs have gone through the entire certification process and received the "SFV Quality Club" certification. A further 25 clubs from all over Switzerland were also added to the programme in June 2023. To ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of Quality Club, the programme is evaluated by the ISPW.
The project has the following objectives
- to record and analyse the effects of the programme on the further development of the football clubs and
- to critically examine the programme and the process and formulate recommendations for the further development of the programme.
The results of the evaluation are used to identify possible weaknesses and areas for improvement in the programme.
We are focussing on the following areas (sub-projects) with regard to the evaluation:
Programme and process
Which of the association's services and activities are most relevant to football clubs?
What opportunities for improvement are there for the programme and process to promote the development of football clubs?
How satisfied are the football clubs with the association's services and activities?
Impact at club or association level
Are the measures planned as part of the club strategy actually being implemented by the clubs and to what extent and in what form? How satisfied are the clubs with the measures implemented?
To what extent does the fulfilment of the standards/criteria contribute to the desired impact in relation to the individual clubs and to all clubs as a whole (at an aggregated level)?
Which are the most important standards that have the greatest impact at association level? Which specific standards are crucial for the success of the programme at association level?
Procedure
Project phase 1:
The first project phase of the research/evaluation project focuses on revising existing evaluation questions and further developing the impact model. All parts of the impact model will be reviewed, supplemented and specified in order to ensure a comprehensive and meaningful evaluation of the programme.
Another focus is on analysing the SWOT analyses, association strategies and planned implementation measures of the associations. By analysing these existing documents, a comprehensive understanding of the individual strategies and measures is to be developed.
Project phase 2:
The second phase of the project will focus on reviewing the implementation of the measures taken by the clubs in the club strategy. The aim is to check whether the planned measures have actually been implemented by the football clubs and to what extent adjustments have been made. The evaluation design and the associated survey instruments still need to be developed.
A further focus is on examining the effects of the implemented measures at association level, i.e. on the football clubs analysed as a whole. The effects of the implemented measures on the association will be analysed.
By reviewing the implementation of the measures and analysing the effects at association level, recommendations for action will be developed to ensure the long-term success of the programme.
Project organisation and project partners
ISPW project team: Siegfried Nagel & Matthias Buser
SFV contact persons: Benjamin Egli, Matthias Krummen & Romana Bazan Freire
