The divisional winners of the EFL Community Awards 2025 were revealed on Wednesday 2 April when Clubs, players and projects were recognised for their achievements at a ceremony at Parliament.
The awards, which celebrate the outstanding work EFL Football Club charities are delivering in their local communities, honoured winners across all three divisions in the categories of Community Player of the Season, Community Club of the Season, and Community Project of the Season. The judging panel included former England Lioness, Rachel Brown-Finnis, former EFL footballer turned Sky Sports pundit, Jobi McAnuff, sports journalist, Henry Winter and the PFA’s Dave Palmer.
Norwich City was awarded Championship Community Club of the Season after the charity engaged with record-breaking 45,828 participants during 2023/24. The Club charity’s service offer includes an innovative volunteering project called ‘My Club’, a ‘Play and Eat’ programme to assist those affected by the cost-of-living crisis, and the ‘Realising Potential’ initiative, helping those with disabilities and additional needs to improve their employability. Rotherham United was named League One Community Club of the Season, while Fleetwood Town picked up the award for League Two.
Bristol Rovers' defender, Taylor Moore, was recognised as League One’s Community Player of the Year for his work supporting mental health in the local community. Taylor’s passion for mental health is rooted in lived experience, after his mother attempted suicide last year. This inspired Taylor to create and launch his own project called ‘5K Your Way’, an exercise initiative which encourages open conversations about mental health through light physical activity. Over 40 participants attended the first walk, and it has now become a regular event, with numbers increasing every time.
Jack Stacey from Norwich City was named Championship Community Player of the Season for his exceptional commitment to volunteering, and Doncaster Rovers’ Joseph Olowu picked up the League Two award for going above and beyond with his support of a refugee and asylum seekers project.
Community Project of the Season for League Two was awarded to Port Vale for their cost-of-living programme, Baby Bank. The Baby Bank ensures no child goes without the basic essential items and helps to reduce the financial strain and stress on families living in one of the country’s most deprived wards. Over the last 12 months, 1,562 families have received support, with the scheme providing items to allow new babies a safe space to sleep, appropriate clothing while offering support to families facing crisis.
Plymouth Argyle’s ACTing with Children programme - which supports children aged 0-18 who have a parent in prison - picked up Championship Community Project of the Season. League One’s winner was Charlton Athletic for their Youth Engagement Vehicles – a youth engagement scheme to reduce serious youth violence in London boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley.
EFL Chief Executive, Trevor Birch, said: “The EFL Community Awards are a celebration of the role and collective impact football has in communities across England and Wales. Hearing such powerful stories from our winners reinforces the capabilities EFL Clubs have in not only changing the landscape of our communities, but in changing lives too.
“EFL Club charities collectively support over 1 million people across England and Wales every season, and these awards highlight only a fraction of the programmes and initiatives that operate every single day. Our 72 Clubs are at the forefront of helping to tackle societal challenges and adapting the services they offer to better meet the needs of their communities. It is this ability to be agile and responsive to individual community needs that makes this work so impactful.”
