First batch of winners revealed for the 2024 EFL Awards with clubs and players honoured

The first batch of winners have been revealed for the 2024 EFL Awards with clubs and players to be honoured later next month.

The English Football League announced the divisional winners of the EFL Community Awards 2024 on Tuesday morning.

This celebrates the very best in club community work and recognising commitment, innovation and impact from clubs and players during the 2023/24 season.   

The EFL is delighted to reveal the divisional winners of the EFL Community Awards 2024! 👏

Read more ➡️ https://t.co/Z41Cvh5WPs#EFLAwards | #EFLintheCommunity

— EFL (@EFL) March 26, 2024

EFL STATEMENT:

The EFL is delighted to reveal the divisional winners of the EFL Community Awards 2024, celebrating the very best in Club community work and recognising commitment, innovation and impact from Clubs and players during the 2023/24 season.   

Winners will be presented with their awards at a ceremony taking place in the House of Commons later today.  

EFL Community Club of the Season  

West Bromwich Albion, Charlton Athletic and Swindon Town are the divisional winners of EFL Community Club of the Season having demonstrated a variety of powerful, far-reaching community programmes in response to local need.     

Judges were impressed by West Brom’s approach to addressing key issues through projects like ‘Go Local’, offering midnight football sessions during Ramadan and a rehabilitation scheme for stroke survivors. In League One Charlton Athletic led the way for its school project on the Isle of Sheppey – a high priority area for the Department of Education – and its innovative work to support the NHS, while Swindon Town was the standout in League Two, demonstrating a commitment to continuously develop and improve an already well-executed portfolio of projects and activities, from helping refugees integrate into the local area to tackling loneliness.    

EFL Player in the Community, sponsored by the PFA  

As role models across the EFL, the 2024 winners of Player in the Community, sponsored by the PFA, are Sheffield Wednesday’s Will Vaulks in the Championship – the third time the player has won this award – in Portsmouth’s Marlon Pack in League One and in League Two, Morecambe’s Farrend Rawson.  

EFL Community Project of the Season 

The Community Project of the Season award represents the most innovative and impactful projects that Clubs deliver in their local communities. In the Championship, this award goes to Bristol City for its ADD Mentor programme, which supports young people identified by the police as being at risk of going to prison. While the scheme is small in scale, it delivers major impact in the area, helping to transform the lives of its participants and acting as a catalyst for positive change.  In League One, Port Vale is recognised for the Club’s Community Cupboard and Lounge initiative, which has supported over 6,000 people in the last 12 months with cost-of-living challenges. Morecambe is this year’s League Two winner for its Veteran’s project which started out as a regular coffee morning for ex-servicemen and women and has developed considerably into a lifeline for veterans aged 19 – 90.    

Situated at the heart of their communities, EFL Clubs have a unique ability to engage some of the most under-represented groups living in England and Wales, supporting people aged from one week old to 101. With almost 50 million people living within 15 miles of an EFL Club, as a collective they play a crucial role in positively influencing lives up and down the country with the variety of programmes delivered.  

An overall winner from each of the three categories will be revealed at the EFL Awards ceremony in London on 14 April.     

Trevor Birch, CEO of the EFL, said: “I’m honoured to be here at the Houses of Parliament today to celebrate the winners from this year’s EFL Community Awards. The real-life stories shared by participants from community programmes across the League is humbling and shows the breadth and depth of work delivered. This annual event presents a powerful reminder of the scale, reach and impact of Club community work and its significance to the 72 towns and cities EFL Clubs serve all year round.”  

EFL Community Awards Divisional Winners: 

EFL Community Club of the Season 

Championship: West Bromwich Albion  

During 2023, the Albion Foundation, the official charitable arm of West Bromwich Albion, engaged with 13,060 participants through a variety of projects and activities in the Sandwell area. More than 21,700 sessions were delivered with 434 per week and over 38 hours of contact time per participant. The ages of participants ranged from one year old at the Mini Baggies football sessions, to 101 at the Hawthorns Hub Memories Group sessions. A key area that the Foundation also prides itself on is the work done in disability sport, with 17% of participants having special educational needs and disabilities. Twenty-three of the Foundation’s 41 teams are disability focused including powerchair, blind football and cerebral palsy football. 

League One: Charlton Athletic  

In 2023, Chalton Athletic’s Community Trust (CACT) engaged with 25,000 participants, with the work of the Trust having a reported value to society of £49.6million (validated by Greenwich University). CACT’s health staff are integrated into the Queen Elizabeth Hospital discharge team, providing social prescribing and resolving practical issues to speed up patient discharge times and reduce bed blocking – a national Government target. More than 7,400 cost of living support referrals were received from Charton’s Primary Care partners, which lead to CACT making  11,222 outward referrals to support people in need of help. Charlton Athletic continues to remain committed to EDI excellence, with training provided to the Club’s Board and a women’s network established last year.  The charity has also established a young leaders programme to provide a training and development pathway for CACT’s future leaders. 

League Two: Swindon Town  

Swindon Town has remained committed to its goal of being a constant catalyst for positive change in 2023, focusing not just on football but on leaving a lasting legacy within Swindon. With participants aged over 90, Swindon’s Staying Connected sessions provide a support network for those whose needs might not meet the required standards for social intervention from the NHS or local councils. This year, Swindon also welcomed members of the Ukrainian community to Foundation Park, to help give them a sense of belonging in Swindon and feeling of home during their stay. Swindon’s 2023 Christmas Donation Appeal garnered an overwhelming response, with nearly 200 presents generously donated. These gifts were then presented to charities offering crucial support to Ukrainian refugees.  

EFL Player in the Community, sponsored by the PFA 

Championship: Will Vaulks, Sheffield Wednesday  

Will Vaulks has won the award for his strong and supportive connection to the Club’s Community Organisation work and his wider charitable commitments including the Bluebell Wood children’s charity and the role he played in executing The Baton of Hope relay for mental health awareness.  

League One: Marlon Pack, Portsmouth  

Marlon Pack has been recognised for his keenness to support the wider community of his boyhood Club, his commitment to fan engagement, coaching in the community (including supporting the Academy team in his spare time) and his dedication to one-on-one time with several fans in need of support and special treatment.  

League Two: Farrend Rawson, Morecambe  

Farrend Rawson is acknowledged for his ability to carry his influence on the pitch into his community work and spread his enthusiasm for the importance of player support into the first-team dressing room. Farrend has supported school projects, the Extra Time programme for the over 60s and at Christmas, organised players and staff donations to buy presents for children at a local hospital.  

EFL Community Project of the Season   

Championship: Bristol City, ADD Mentor 

Bristol City’s ADD-Mentor project is centred around a commitment to supporting the development of a young person’s life through the use of a mentor who helps navigate mentees away from negative influences in their troubled life, find a new purpose and become a positive pillar that gives back to their community. The project sees trusting relationships built between known young people in the community and the mentors (who both have lived experience of the challenges the young people are dealing with) to give them an opportunity to change. Police reports have shown 100% non-engagement with anti-social behaviour with each mentee impacted in year two of the project.  

League One: Port Vale, Community Cupboard and Lounge 

One participant from Port Vale stated that ‘if the support Port Vale Foundation offers was in tablet form, then it should be prescribed to everyone!’ The Community Cupboard and Lounge has supported 6,000 visits during the last 12 months of the cost of living crisis. The Foundation provides access to advice and support in areas such as housing, benefits, mental health and employment and aims to be inclusive, compassionate, and practical. The project also works to reduce isolation, reduce reliance on statutory services and provide a non-threatening, non-clinical environment in which people can connect and access services they need.   

League Two: Morecambe, Veterans Project 

Morecambe’s project aims to reduce isolation of Veterans, as well as those that live alone and are elderly. The project has provided training for veterans of all ages, including employability, first aid, food hygiene, wellbeing and local history. Veterans have been referred into services such as debt management, benefit advice, home fire safety checks, and addiction services. Over 150 unique, individual veterans signed up to the project, with a record number of 72 attendees at 2023’s end-of-year-event. The session provides a bacon butty, unlimited brews and a safe space for veterans aged from 19 – 90 to socialise with likeminded people.   

Twitter users reacted with the first batch of winners revealed for the 2024 EFL Awards with clubs and players honoured…

@jettight19: Nice to see Swindon are doing something amazing of the pitch in the foundation 👏🏻

@BinnyPiper: Class this well done to all those involved in the foundation 👏 #stfc

@jojopip1: @WBA 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

@_ohewitt_: He’s a legend our Will 🦉💙 #swfc

@S35Kel: Well deserved, what a guy. 😁 #swfc

@TomJubb1867: Such a humble guy love him #swfc

@toppskickbets: What a bloke 😍 #swfc

@pe_1968: He’s just an all round decent bloke. Proud to say he’s one of ours #swfc

@Bell2412M: Well done Will fully deserved. I am proud that you play for my club you are an example to all on and off the pitch #swfc

@StephenLintott2: Well deserved congratulations everyone involved 🔴⚪️ #cafc

@KarlSage21: Never in doubt 👏🏻👏🏻 #cafc

@JWalksClips: Well deserved! Great Captain and an even greater human being 💪🏻💙 #pompey

@TrumagooFM: Our skipper 💙🤍⭐️🌙 #pompey

@haz_bond: El Capitano 🫡 Get a statue of him ASAP. #pompey