Greenock Morton Community Trust wins SFA Grassroots Award

Greenock Morton Community Trust wins SFA Grassroots Award

Greenock Morton Community Trust were recently honoured for their contribution to life in Inverclyde by being awarded the prestigious Best Professional Club in the Community at the 2016 Scottish Football Association Grassroots Awards staged at Hampden.

The showpiece annual ceremony, presented by McDonalds and the Sunday Mail, sees the Scottish game’s governing body recognise and reward people across the country for making a difference to football in their local communities.

And our Morton in the Community programme was selected ahead of as one of the three national category awards winners, picking up the main prize on the night and presented by national team manager Gordon Strachan.

Proud community trust chief executive Warren Hawke said: “Three and a half years ago we had a bag of balls and a few ideas, it makes me very proud to see what we have achieved in such a short time.

“We have built the foundation for future years of success and to receive such an award at a national level is great recognition for the hard work of everyone involved

“We have so much more we can support Inverclyde with in addressing key local issues and I look forward to working to achieve that in the future.

“Finally, I must personally thank all the trustees and staff within the charity, especially the managers Brian McLaughlin, Gordon McKillop and Deborah Mole, who make my job easy.”

Head of community coaching Brian added: “We are absolutely delighted not only to be nominated but to win Best Professional Club in the Community

“We strive to ensure all the people of Inverclyde and surrounding areas get the opportunity to develop and progress under the Morton badge

“Over the last three years we have seen considerable growth and couldn’t have done this without the help of our key partners.

“These included Greenock Morton Football Club, Inverclyde Scottish FA football development officer Stuart Rafferty and all his staff, Inverclyde Active Schools and Sport Development, Inverclyde DWP, and Inverclyde Council.

“Last but certainly not least, everyone at Morton in the Community would like to thank every single person who voted for us and their continued support of our projects.”

In recognition of their remarkable local initiatives, the Scottish Football Association recently staged the third round draw for their national cup competition here at Cappielow Park.

First-team manager Jim Duffy was also enthusive in his praise of the club’s community work, and said: “It was good for the club to stage the draw and great for the community.

“The award they won was fantastic and it was a process over the last few years that has gathered momentum and got better and better to where they’ve been voted the best in the country.

“I think for a club like Morton that’s an outstanding achievement, so I want to personally congratulate everyone associated with the Community Trust. It’s a lot of hard work in the background.

“People there maybe don’t get the acknowledgement or the publicity footballers get but it’s very, very important for the community and the cup draw gives them a chance to be in the spotlight, and deservedly so.”