English football club Bristol Rovers wants to help its fans emulate the fitness of its players, through an innovative community initiative which sees supporters swap half-time pies for weekly exercise.

The club’s charity – the Bristol Rovers Community Trust – has launched a new Fans4Life project designed to improve the health and wellbeing of nearby residents, using an exercise and education programme. Although open to all, the course is specifically aimed at males who are not comfortable with traditional weight loss classes.

Sessions will be run by local fitness legend Mark Hammond, who has previously worked with the Bristol Rovers first team. The first free ten-week course – which is being supported and evaluated by the University of Gloucester – will start in September and there will be free health screenings as part of the offering.

"The Fans4Life course aims to engage those men for whom the gym and traditional diets do not appeal,” Bristol Rovers head of education Adam Tutton.

"The project will help sports fans who do very little exercise, and are overweight, to lead a more active and healthy lifestyle. Research has shown that taking part in this programme could add six seasons to a fan's life."

The initiative marks the latest instance of football clubs seeking to promote physical activity and comes in the same week that the Premier League announced it would provide an additional £10.5m (US$17.5m, €13m) to help fund sport in English primary schools.