Charlton Athletic are delighted to confirm that the club have been awarded both the Bronze and Silver awards as part of the EFL's inaugural Equality Code of Practice, recognising its ongoing commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI).
The Addicks are just one of only two League One clubs to receive the Silver award, following extensive and collaborative submissions by staff from both the club and Charlton Athletic Community Trust.
The Silver award enables Charlton to submit further, detailed examples of its ongoing work later this year, in order to qualify for a Gold award.
Paul Elliott CBE MBE, Charlton's Board lead on EDI, said: "Our collective aim is for Charlton to become the most cohesive and sustainable community-driven club in the UK competing at an elite level, so it is great to see this public recognition of the work done to date. The new ownership's commitment to objectives based around social purpose is the main reason why I was so excited to come back as a director to the club I have supported all my life and started my playing career at. So this is gratifying on a personal level. But the real praise has to go to the work of our staff - from the academy to the Trust to those who work here at The Valley - for understanding the true power of EDI and helping making this a core theme of everything we do."
Dr Michael Seeraj, Charlton's group Head of EDI, commented: "Charlton has a proud history of fighting inequality, racism and homophobia. However, history is not enough - our work has to be about the here and now. It became clear when the new owners and management came in last summer that we were entering a new period of Charlton leading both the industry and its local community on EDI - the work done to date is just the start of that new era. Embedding EDI within every aspect of a professional football organisation fosters respect and unity, two values which are key to top performance. It also helps to ensure that all talent is recognised and nurtured, regardless of background, identity or personal characteristics. That in turn creates a richer pool of players and staff who can then drive the club forward to greater success."
The EDI award comes just a week after Charlton were selected by the EFL as League One Community Club of the Year. Charlie Methven, Charlton Co-Owner, added: "As Charlton's current custodians, we are proud to be associated with this great institution, which was a force for good in south-east London, Kent and the wider football world long before we arrived.
"Our club and its community trust sit in the middle of the thriving cultural melting pot which is south-east London. Both local communities and local businesses want to see their own diversity fully and proudly represented by the local football club. So in our view, being industry leaders in community and EDI isn't just the right thing to do from a moral perspective - it's also a core building block for growing Charlton as a club."
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