Last week, Everton became the first club in the Premier League and moreover, English football as a whole, when they registered themselves as a breastfeeding friendly organisation.
The club and our official charity Everton in the Community (EitC) have now joined Liverpool City Council’s ‘Babies and Mums Breastfeeding Information and Support Initiative’ (Bambis) to encourage a breastfeeding friendly environment across the city.
👶🏼 | @Everton Football Club has become the first football club in England to register as a breastfeeding-friendly organisation. #NationalBreastfeedingWeek https://t.co/wn4cUnKHj0
— Everton in the Community (@EITC) June 22, 2018
Following our sign up, Goodison Park and all EitC facilities – including The People’s Hub and The Blue Base – will now display the ‘Bambis’ Quality Mark to inform fans and customers that they are breastfeeding friendly venues.
The club originally signed up to this plan back on Friday, June 22.
A statement from MP Luciana Berger carried by Everton reacting to the the news read.
“It’s fantastic that Everton has signed up to this really important scheme that supports new mums and their babies in their most precious early few months. It’s great that the Club will be welcoming breastfeeding mums and that their staff will be trained to know how to best support these mums and provide a safe and welcome environment for them to feed. We’re on a journey and it’s great that Everton will be leading the way, not only locally but also nationally, and encouraging other clubs across the country to follow suit.”
Club People Director, Kim Healey, said on behalf of Everton.
“We pride ourselves at Everton and EitC of being an inclusive organisation and promoting equality and diversity and we are pleased to sign up to the Bambis Quality Mark and play our part in helping mums across Liverpool feel welcome and comfortable when feeding their children.”
250 premises across Liverpool – including cafes, shops and restaurants – are already displaying the Quality Mark and it’s great to see Everton lead the way here when it comes to involvement from the football industry.
Responses from fans have certainly been amusing. I don’t mind admitting here that the headline used is not the one that originally came to mind. However, I don’t want to risk offending given the politically correct world we live in, especially on what is a fantastic step for the club to have taken for a whole variety of reasons that I don’t need to explain.
It’s one of those where I think if you don’t get it already, no amount of explaining will change your mind.
For the record though, I never imagined I’d be writing a piece on this particular topic – football is definitely changing, as is the world!
Amazing support for mums, a great way to ensure future fans ???? well done @Everton ????????????
— sal (@saltodd1) June 22, 2018
Thank you @EITC @Everton Forward thinking at its best #futurefans ????????????????
— Liverpool Bambis (@BambisLiverpool) June 23, 2018