West Bromwich Albion have won the 2024 Community Club of the Year award for the Sky Bet Championship at the EFL Community Awards 2024.
The accolade celebrates an outstanding club, based on its commitment to the community and the impact they have within that community.
In the past year, the Albion Foundation - the charitable arm of the football club – engaged with over 13,000 participants through a variety of projects and activities in the Sandwell area. A total of 21,732 sessions were delivered in 2023, with 434 per-week and over 38 hours of contact time per-participant.
Ages of participants ranged from one through weekly mini Baggies football sessions, to 101 through Hawthorns hub and memories group sessions.
Speaking after Friday’s Open Iftar, the first of its kind to be held at The Hawthorns, Foundation Director Rob Lake expressed his delight at Albion receiving the award and was keen to praise his ‘wonderful’ staff.
He said: “We’re absolutely delighted at the Albion Foundation, that our wonderful work in the community has been recognised by the EFL, and we are the Community Club of the Season for the Championship. It’s a great honour and as Director of the Foundation, I’m absolutely delighted and so proud of our wonderful staff.
“Today is just a typical day, it’s nearly ten o’clock on a Friday night – we’ve had a Premier League girls’ tournament, our first ever Iftar with 300 people coming to The Hawthorns for the first time, and now we’re on our annual Sleep Out to raise money for the homeless.
“That’s what the Albion Foundation is all about, that’s why we’ve been recognised. I’d like to thank all my staff, volunteers, trustees, supporters for their magnificent efforts. Very well done and thank you.”
One winner is selected across each of the three divisions and celebrated at the EFL Community Awards on March 26, with an overall winner being revealed on April 14.
To find out more about the Albion Foundation and help support their work, click here to head to the Foundation section of the website.