Norwich City were named as the EFL Community Club of the Season at Sunday night’s EFL Awards in London.
The award recognised the huge reach of the club’s Community Sports Foundation, who engaged with over 45,000 unique participants in 2024, generating an enormous £63m of social value to the area.
City had already been named the Championship’s top community club in the build-up to the awards and were pitted against finalists Rotherham United and Fleetwood Town, the League One and Two winners, for the overall accolade.
Norwich City and the Community Sports Foundation had been shortlisted for the award in several previous seasons but never claimed the ultimate prize until now.
Foundation chief executive officer Ian Thornton OBE accepted the award on behalf of the club and praised the tireless work of staff and volunteers that drive the Canaries’ impact in the community.
“We are enormously proud of the growth of the Community Sports Foundation since its formation over 30 years ago," he said.
“Supporting and inspiring our community is one of the club’s core pillars and that is evident right through from board level to those delivering our projects on a daily basis.
“We thank everyone who has contributed along the way, be that as a member of the team, a volunteer or as a partner of the Foundation.”
Recent highlights of the club and Foundation’s community impact include:
- City defender Jack Stacey received the Sky Bet Championship’s community player of the season award
- Extending the Foundation’s reach with further developments at The Nest and the new Brundall Sports Hub
- The provision of affordable freshly cooked meals and activities for over 1,500 people through the new Play and Eat programme
- A new volunteering project, ‘My Club’, recruited over 300 volunteers to support the Foundation’s work and fundraising
- A record-breaking field of nearly 7,000 runners in the Foundation’s 10k event, Run Norwich
- Continued personal development support for children and adults with additional needs through the Realising Potential programme
To find out more about the work of the Community Sports Foundation, visit www.communitysportsfoundation.org.uk