Fulham Named London Community Club Of The Year

Fulham Named London Community Club Of The Year

Fulham will be recognised in Parliament for their outstanding community work having been named London Checkatrade Community Club of the Year as part of the 2017 EFL Awards.

It is the Fulham Football Club Foundation’s third award in just five months, with this one considered one of the most prestigious awards going in the industry. FFCF are delighted to be recognised in this way, and hopeful that on Sunday 9th April, at the annual EFL Awards ceremony, they are announced overall winners from the list of six regional nominees.

Their showcase project – Independent Futures – delivered in partnership with Personal Independence CIC, is a behaviour change intervention designed to give young people the tools and skills to reach their potential and to reduce the risk of sexual exploitation, gang activity, domestic abuse and criminal behaviours.

The project impressed the judges, with its impact helping 32 participants from some of the most deprived backgrounds in London complete the behavioural and personal independence programme.

“All Clubs, not just the winners, work tirelessly to connect with local supporters”

This is just one of 27 programmes the Foundation delivered in 2016, engaging more than 11,000 unique participants for an average contact time of 23 hours 43 minutes.

“We are extremely proud that the hard work carried out by the Foundation has been recognised in this way,” FFCF CEO Steve Day commented. “It is testament to the effort that has been put into the Independent Futures project, something which is echoed across all our programmes.”

Shaun Harvey, EFL Chief Executive, said: “The announcement of the Regional Award winners, provides a fitting tribute to the work that takes place to transform local communities through the power of football. All Clubs, not just the winners, work tirelessly to connect with local supporters and I am delighted to see such innovative and effective ideas recognised in this way.”

The six regional winners were selected by an independent judging panel including The Times’ Chief Football Writer, Henry Winter, Football Policy Advisor at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Sam Haylen, Director of CSR at The PFA, John Hudson and Sport England’s Strategic Lead for Relationships, Greg Clements.

EFL Trust Director of Operations, Mike Evans, praised the fantastic work completed by all six clubs via the work of their community trusts. He said: “Without question this was the strongest year we have ever had in terms of quality of Community Club of the Year applications, giving the judging panel some really tough decisions. All of our club trusts should be rightly proud of their efforts, and for the six selected clubs it’s a tremendous honour to be recognised by Parliament and to be showcased in the House of Commons. They are deserving winners and great ambassadors for the work of all EFL clubs in their communities across the country.”

Earlier this year, the Fulham Foundation was recognised with both the London Sport ‘Making it Easier’ and Beyond Sport ‘Best New Innovation’ awards with London United for their ground breaking programme, fanActiv.

For more information, please contact Amy O’Brien, Business Development Manager, at aobrien@fulhamfc.com