More on the Bees community award

Last updated : 08 March 2006 By Smallsy

Brentford FC – Football League Community Club of the Year!

Brentford have won The Community Club of the Year Award at the inaugural 'Football League Awards incorporating FourFourTwo's Top 50 Football League Players'.

The Bees received the award, which was sponsored by Asda Stores, at a sold out gala dinner at The London Hilton on Park Lane last night.

It completes a momentous week for the community team having celebrated it's achievement of establishing The Brentford FC Community Sports Trust, at a reception held at The House of Commons only last Monday.

On receiving the award, the Trust’s Chief Executive Lee Doyle said: "Its fantastic to get the recognition that this award represents. The Club has been running a community scheme for 19 years, starting with one member of staff but by April we will have twenty full time and fifty part time. Great credit must go to the original partnership which was between Brentford FC, Ealing and Hounslow Council plus the Footballers Further Education and Vocational Training Society (FFE&VTS) and this partnership still remains strong today.

We reach in excess of 30,000 young people a year and work with a number of partners. Part of our social inclusion programme backed by the Home Office Positive Futures Programme is aimed at hard to reach 10-19 year olds, we use football and other sports such as kayaking, table tennis, cricket and boxercise, as the catalyst to engage young people, and it is working. In addition the work in the Griffin Park Learning Zone led by Hounslow Study Support Manager Jo Emmerson and her team should be highlighted, linking educatiion with sport to inspire young people to raise their academic achievements. This is all part of the cutting edge partnership work emerging from Griffin Park."


Martin Allen was also in attendance at the awards dinner,
“It was a very special moment when Brentford FC was voted the number one Community Club in the country. I was very proud and it is another special moment in the development of this club. The Community Scheme is a terrific team of people, and they do an absolutely fantastic job – they are a credit to our club.”

The other clubs that were short-listed for the award were: Burnley, Colchester United, Millwall, Norwich City, Notts County and Wolverhampton Wanderers. The judges in The Community Club of the Year category were: Hugh Sleight (Editor, FourFourTwo), Andy Williamson (Chief Operating Officer, The Football League), Roger Read (CEO, Football in the Community), and Philip French (Chief Executive, Supporters Direct)

Photos:
Brentford’s Community Staff, the Management & Players Celebrate the Award
Martin Allen congratulates the Community Sports Trust Chief Executive Lee Doyle on the award.

For more information please visit www.brentfordfc.co.uk, www.brentfordfccst.com, www.football-league.premiumtv.co.uk