Norwich City are delighted to announce that Ashley Barnes has been chosen as the club and the Foundation's PFA Community Champion for 2023/24 season.
Not only has the number ten become a fan favourite on the pitch, his work within the local Norwich community off the pitch has been hugely impactful.
Having only joined the Canaries at the start of the 2023/24 season, Barnes has been involved in a number of appearances with Norwich City supporters and Foundation participants.
Back in April, Barnes visited The Nest to meet young volunteer Alex Fearne from one of the Community Sports Foundation's disability programmes. Alex and his dad manage one of the gardens where fruit and vegetables are grown for the kitchen.
Ashley Barnes dropped in to @TheNestCSF recently to meet Alex, a young volunteer from @NorwichCityCSF's disability programmes, who manages a garden with his dad 🌱 pic.twitter.com/LIfCvBmqb9
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) October 30, 2023
Having become familiar with some of the work done by the Foundation, Barnes was joined by Angus Gunn for some powerchair football during the EFL Week of Action towards the end of 2023.
The pair met with the official Norwich City Powerchair team, funded by the Community Sports Foundation, and joined in on a competitive game at City Academy.
Most recently, Barnes was part of the group that visited RAF Mildenhall to meet and connect with some of the families living on the base. The station invited the players down for the visit as a thank you to the Foundation for delivering regular soccer schools.
Barnes has also been involved in a number of Junior Canary events, signing sessions and fan forums, getting involved with the community at every opportunity possible.
On winning the award, he said: "It's special to win the award, it gives us lads the opportunity to give back to the community and everyone that supports the community. It's great to see so many familiar faces at The Nest too.
"I have to thank everyone that I have met in the community to make this award so special, so a massive thank you to all involved at the Foundation."