The main activities organised as part of the programme were:

• Sessions that consisted of a fully inclusive multisport and play approach
• Every session included a theme and worked alongside a curriculum
• The Programme was implemented with one Programme Manager, one Coordinator, two Lead Coaches and a number of Volunteers
• LFC Foundation also had an advisory board which consisted of member of the wider Liverpool community including Liverpool City Council (LCC) Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), Friends of Parks (FOP), and Liverpool County Football Association .

LFC Foundation explored the implementation of Open Goals through a process evaluation with ongoing impact evaluation in progress. The impact achieved by the project is summarised below:

• The sessions mainly attracted primary school aged kids and some older siblings.
• A key outcome was to increase park usage and physical activity and this has been achieved. LFC Foundation used a System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) technique to explore whether Open Goals presence in parks resulted in an increase in park usage and physical activity levels of those using parks and open spaces. The results from this showed an increase in park usage that was not statistically significant although there was evidence that physical activity levels increased significantly when Open Goals was present compared to when it was not and therefore there were more people taking part in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity when Open Goals was present in the park compared to when it was not there.
• An assessment of practice was carried out in the form of coach observations against a pre-defined coach observation checklist. Fidelity (measurement of delivery of the intervention as intended) was checked and an average fidelity score of 68% was achieved (range from 50-75%) which indicated overall a high level of fidelity (anything over >67% is rated high). Some areas for improvement included the involvement of family participants in sessions and the delivery of ‘teachable moments’.

The Long-term impacts are yet to be seen however perceived impact as viewed by participants and coaches is that Open Goals can improve participant confidence and self-esteem, improve family co-participation, and increase the use of local parks and open spaces within families who previously were not using such spaces.

Some of the lessons learnt during the implementation of the programme were:

• Open Goals continues to grow and develop. Bringing activities to local spaces for local people to access. Open Goals has worked because there is a need for free fun family activities that are not competitive and not football
• In the initial pilot of Open Goals, LFC Foundation learnt really early on that Football sessions/ delivery wasn’t going to work because although the young people and their families love football it’s too competitive and not inclusive enough for what the programme is for.

Family / Participant feedback

• Parent from Coronation Park

“As a family we did go to the park and play footy however since the sessions we now will take tennis rackets, other balls and even play games from the sessions”

• Parent from Stanley Park

“Our family and friends social time was often around meals out but we have now make the change to meet in parks with picnic and some sports equipment and enjoy talking together. “

• The Open Goals Programme has been successful as LFC Foundation have listened to the communities they have worked with. The importance of Community Engagement thorough out the delivery was essential to ensure the programme was relevant and needed. Forums and consultations along with sharing information was essential for our programme to succeed. LFC Foundation wanted to empower the communities they worked with to share the work they were all doing. Without the community engagement the programme would not have worked.
• Partnership working was also something the has been essential to the success of Open Goals including key stakeholders in the development be it the LCC or the FOP groups.