LEYTON ORIENT WIN COMMUNITY CLUB OF THE YEAR 2009

LOCSP Press Release: Monday 30 March 2009

LEYTON ORIENT WIN COMMUNITY CLUB OF THE YEAR 2009
Community Sports Programme recognised in national awards

London - Leyton Orient Community Sports Programme (LOCSP) have won the CSI Sports Community Club of the Year Award for League 1 at the 2009 Football League Awards incorporating FourFourTwo’s Top 50 Football League Players.

The club received the award at a gala dinner at Grosvenor House, Park Lane on Sunday evening in front of more than 800 attendees from clubs, sponsors and the football industry.

Working in some of the most deprived areas of London, Leyton Orient’s Community Sports Programme’s core work takes place in six London boroughs with a total combined population of over 1.3 million people and delivers activity aimed at diverse communities.

The programme runs over 200 sports and education sessions every week and provides more than 225,000 participation and engagement opportunities for people every year. Demonstrating unrivalled sustainability, the Programme has a significant turnover and 40 staff working across the projects.

Leyton Orient’s stand out achievement in 2008 has been their social inclusion activity, encompassing initiatives such as Progressive Pathways, Kickz, Progressive Futures and Family Learning Days.

Sitting at the core of their social inclusion activity is the Leyton Orient ‘Eid Cup’, which is an annual national sporting event aimed at breaking down barriers facing British Muslims in their local and national communities. It aims to highlight how different communities can be brought together using sports as a means of engagement.

Henry Winter, Telegraph journalist and judge in this category said:

“The Eid Cup is excellent. Everything about Orient’s schemes show that they are right at the heart of the community.”

Neil Taylor, LOCSP Chief Executive said:

“It’s great to receive this award, which is recognition for not just this year but the 20 years we’ve been doing this work.

“We’ve always aimed to be innovative, people-focused and to use our knowledge and expertise to bring the best out of young people. And they’ve been on the journey with us – life would have been a challenge for many of them, but we’ve given them a focus and that’s very rewarding.”

Greg Baker, Regional Manager (South East), Football League Trust said:

“I'd like to congratulate LOCSP on winning this well deserved award for their work within their local community.

“The range of activities and initiatives offered by them is hugely impressive and I am confident that they will continue to go from strength to strength.

“LOCSP has proved consistently over the past few years that it is one of the very best Football Club community programmes, not only in League One, but in England.”

Dave Edmundson, General Manager, Football League Trust said:

“Many congratulations to all the staff at LOCSP, and fully deserved.

“The award is deserved recognition for an outstanding and all-embracing scheme that has a significant and positive impact within the community served by the club.”

Barry Hearn, Chairman, Leyton Orient FC said:

“This is a tremendous honour for Leyton Orient and the excellent work that has been going on in the east London community, not only over recent months, but the past two decades.

“It's a richly deserved recognition for the way in which the Football Club and Community Sports Programme have worked together for the collective benefit of local people.”

Lord Mawhinney, Football League Chairman said:

“Once again, these awards have given us the opportunity to honour those individuals whose commitment to the game, their club or local community goes beyond the call of duty.

"The fourth Football League Awards have been an enormous success, and I congratulate all the winners on their achievements."

The Football League Awards show will be aired on Sky Sports 1 on Tuesday 31st March at 6.30pm and a special Coca-Cola Football League Podcast, featuring all the highlights of the night, will be available on http://www.football-league.co.uk/ and iTunes from Monday evening.

To find out more about The Football League Awards, including all the photos and news from the evening, please visit http://www.footballleagueawards.com/.

For more information about Leyton Orient Community Sports Programme contact Andrew McSteen, LOCSP Communications Officer on 020 8556 5973, email andrew.mcsteen@locsp.org or visit www.locsp.org.

Notes to editors:-
Photos and more information here:
http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/News/FLAwardsDetail/0,,10794~1605830,00.html
Sponsor
CSI Sports is delighted to have the honour of being a partner of The Football League Awards for the third season running, which further endorses a long-standing relationship of which we are very proud. We wish all those short listed for awards the best of luck.
Judging
The select committee of judges for the Football League Awards comprises influential and respected representatives from the media, sponsors and The Football League, alongside industry experts for the various categories. For this category judges were looking for the clubs in each division that best demonstrated results in engaging and strengthening links with the local community during the 2008 calendar year. Judges looked at the all-round community programme and one of the core themes (education, health, sports participation and social inclusion) in which the club believes they excel. The League 1 clubs shortlisted were:
Brighton & Hove Albion
Colchester United
Leyton Orient
Oldham Athletic
Southend United

Winners
The full list of winners from The 2009 Football League Awards is as follows:
EA SPORTS Fan of the Year (in association with BBC Radio 5 Live)
Warner Duff – Ipswich Town
Family Club of the Year – League 2
Shrewsbury Town
Highly Commended – Wycombe Wanderers
Family Club of the Year – League 1
Southend United
Family Club of the Year – Championship
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Highly Commended – Norwich City
 Press Association Sport Best Matchday Programme
Burnley – ‘Claret and You’
Championship Manager Apprentice of the Year – Coca-Cola League 2
Matthew Phillips – Wycombe Wanderers
Championship Manager Apprentice of the Year – Coca-Cola League 1
Tom Aldred – Carlisle United
Championship Manager Apprentice of the Year – Coca-Cola Championship
Sean Scannell – Crystal Palace
PFA Player In The Community
Graeme Murty – Reading
Community Club of the Year – League 2 CSI SPORTS
Brentford
Community Club of the Year – League 1 CSI SPORTS
Leyton Orient
Highly Commended – Brighton and Hove Albion
Community Club of the Year – Championship CSI Sports
Charlton Athletic
Mitre Goal of the Year (in association with Soccer AM)
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake – Wolverhampton Wanderers
Perform Best Fan Marketing Campaign
Preston North End – ‘Lilywhites Go Green’
Highly Commended – Huddersfield Town – ‘The £100 Season Ticket
and the Centenary’
Sky Digital Media Best Digital Communication
Milton Keynes Dons
Highly Commended – Reading
FourFourTwo Young Player of the Year**
Fabian Delph – Leeds United
FourFourTwo Player of the Year – Coca-Cola League 2*
Grant Holt – Shrewsbury Town
FourFourTwo Player of the Year – Coca-Cola League 1*
Matt Fryatt – Leicester City
FourFourTwo Player of the Year – Coca-Cola Championship*
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake – Wolverhampton Wanderers
Contribution to League Football
Jimmy Hill OBE
*These awards will be presented to the highest ranked player in each division in FourFourTwo’s Top 50 Football League Players
**This award will be presented to the highest ranked young Football League player in FourFourTwo’s Top 50 Football League Players
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