Club wins EFL Community Club of the season for League Two
At the 2024 EFL Community Awards, Swindon Town became victorious as the winner of the Sky Bet League Two Community Club of the Year award.
The football team’s philanthropic arm, Swindon Town Community Foundation, completed 2,354 hours of service in the previous year through 3,820 sessions involving a range of community-based projects and activities.
Additionally, 2,377 schools participated in Primary Stars workshops during the course of the previous year, demonstrating Swindon’s community involvement.
The EFL is pleased to announce the divisional winners of the EFL Community Awards 2024, which honour the pinnacle of club community service and acknowledge the dedication, inventiveness, and influence of clubs and players over the 2023–2024 campaign.
Prior to a ceremony later today in the House of Commons, the winners have been revealed.
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.
PFA-sponsored EFL player in the community
The PFA-sponsored Player in the Community winners for 2024 are Sheffield Wednesday’s Will Vaulks in the Championship (his third win), Portsmouth’s Marlon Pack in League One, and Morecambe’s Farrend Rawson in League Two. All three players serve as role models throughout the EFL.
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 a 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.
Seasonal EFL Community Club
“I’m honoured to be here at the Houses of Parliament today to celebrate the winners from this year’s EFL Community Awards,” stated Trevor Birch, CEO of the EFL. Participants from the League’s community projects offer moving anecdotes that demonstrate the scope and calibre of the work they do. The magnitude, scope, and impact of Club community activity, as well as its importance to the 72 towns and communities that EFL Clubs serve year-round, are powerfully brought to light by this yearly event.
