A Winning Partnership
Sunday March 29th saw Brentford FC named Football League Community Club of the Year (League 2) at the annual Football League Awards.
The Football League Awards took place at The Grosvenor Hotel on Sunday night and were attended by representatives from all Football League Clubs.
The Club had been nominated through its Community Sports Trust in the Community Club of the Year category (League 2) and faced strong competition from other League 2 clubs Wycombe Wanderers, Rochdale, Bradford City and Rotherham United.
It is the second time in four years that the Club have received this recognition from the Football League.
David Heath, Director and Acting CEO of Brentford FC said: “We are extremely proud of our Club and believe it’s the friendliest club in the country. Everyone connected with us is aware of the vital importance of the link between football and sport in the community and we continue to promote this relationship at every available opportunity by working in close liaison with the Community Sports Trust (BFCCST), The Griffin Park Learning Zone and the Centre of Excellence – together “One Brentford”.
What really impressed the panel of judges, which included commentator John Motson and former player Steve Claridge, was the scale of the Trusts involvement within the Community, which sees the Trust working in 100 schools and on 40 housing estates. Also, the Trust’s strategy of participation through partnership sees them working with over 30 partners in the public, private and voluntary sector. In 2008 the Trust delivered over 5000 sessions across15 different sports. Alongside the Trust’s wide range of activities including initiatives such as social inclusion project ‘Kickz’, a health awareness campaign ‘Bee Healthy’, and the new Brentford Boating Arch, the key achievement in 2008 was the growth of the disability programme which saw the Trust secure new funding and take on a full-time Disability Officer. With more projects, more sessions and more participants, the Community Sports Trust now offers a whole new level of disability activity.
Further initiatives included a multi-faceted education programme delivered through The Griffin Park Learning Zone. The Learning Zone’s annual report highlights a very progressive approach to education at Griffin Park in partnership with Hounslow Education authority. A programme that began in house has an extended learning offer, outreach programmes and year round opportunity for engagement
On receiving the award on behalf of the Football Club, BFCCST Chief Executive Lee Doyle said: “This is great recognition of our 21st year delivering community sport and 4th as a Trust. There is a real connection with the community in Brentford and when we move to the proposed new stadium, we hope to create a hub for the community where not only can a football club operate, but we can offer links to health and education".
He added: "There is a lot of power in the Football League in terms of reaching out to communities. Both collectively and through individual clubs we have to look at the opportunity we have to positively affect peoples' lives. We are giving people across the board opportunities that they just would not have had before".
The Learning Zone`s Education Manager Jo Emmerson said: "This is more than football, but football is at the centre of what we do. We're creating fans for the future and providing tickets for the community. This is the heart of the Club, Lee delivers with four local authorities and we deliver to 2,000 children in education every year.”
You can see a photo from the Awards Ceremony here.
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