Everton and Everton in the Community have been shortlisted for 15 awards at five upcoming events that will celebrate the best in football both on and off the pitch.
The Club and its official charity took home five prizes at last month’s Football Business Awards, including gold recognition for their COVID-19 response and equality and diversity-focused 2020/21 ‘More Than Eleven’ kit campaign in collaboration with Technical Partner hummel.
The Blues have now received further recognition across a range of areas.
Everton and its charity’s reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its swift and impactful launch of Blue Family, a coordinated outreach and engagement programme to support the most vulnerable, socially isolated and at-risk members of the community following the first national lockdown, has again caught the attention of judges. Everton is up for the ‘Best COVID-19 Response by a Club’ and ‘Best Fan Engagement Programme During COVID-19’ prizes at the Sports Business Awards, while Blue Family has also been shortlisted for ‘Community Initiative of the Season’ at the Ladbrokes Northwest Football Awards and the ‘Community Impact’ accolade at the upcoming online Charity Today Awards.
In total, the Blues are up for five Sports Business Awards, having also earned nominations in the ‘Best Brand Activation Involving Sport’ and ‘Best Sports Community Scheme’ categories for the ‘More Than Eleven’ campaign and Everton in the Community respectively, and placing on the ‘Sports Diversity Award’ shortlist after becoming the first club in the history of the Premier League to launch a kit – the 2020/21 third strip – using only players from its Disability teams.
‘More Than Eleven’ is also among illustrious company in the list of contenders for the ‘Sponsorship Award’ at the prestigious Leaders Sports Awards and will go up against The Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show, Mastercard, Cadbury and Hendrick Motorsports.
In addition to ‘Community Initiative of the Season’, the Blues are up for a further six prizes at this year’s Northwest Football Awards.
The Club’s wide-ranging All Together Now campaign, focused on equality and diversity and providing ‘a football family for everyone’, is in contention for the ‘Kick it Out Promoting Inclusion Award’, while Everton in the Community could retain its title as the ‘Community Club of the Season (Premier League)’. The life-changing and life-saving work of the charity’s more than 40 programmes across Merseyside and the Liverpool City Region tackle social issues from health, poverty, youth engagement and anti-social behaviour, to crime, education, disability, mental health and suicide prevention.
In the Northwest Football Awards’ fan-voted player categories, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Ben Godfrey are up for the Player of the Season and Rising Star of the Season awards respectively, while Izzy Christiansen is nominated in the Women’s Player of the Season category. Sandy MacIver will be hoping to follow up her Olympics call-up earlier this year by winning the Women’s Rising Star of the Season award.
To vote for the Everton players nominated and show your support, visit northwestfootballawards.com.
The work of Everton in the Community has also been shortlisted in the ‘Foundation of the Year’ category at the forthcoming Corporate Engagement Awards, which recognise the most successful and innovative corporate partnerships. The Club’s charitable arm has been acknowledged for its collaborative work with local organisations Relish and CreativeHUT in supporting the community through its Blue Family initiative.
Everton will learn if they have been successful at the Leaders Sports Awards when the winners are announced at Twickenham Stadium on Thursday 7 October, and the Corporate Engagement Awards will be hosted at The Brewery in London on 9 November. The Sports Business Awards will take place at The Kia Oval on Thursday 18 November, with the Ladbrokes Northwest Football Awards to be held at The Point, Emirates Old Trafford stadium, on Monday 22 November. The victors of the Charity Today Awards are announced online via Twitter throughout October and November.
Everton and Everton in the Community have been shortlisted for the following awards:
Leaders Sports Awards
Sponsorship Award – (‘More Than Eleven’, with hummel)
Sports Business Awards
- Best Brand Activation Involving Sport (‘More Than Eleven’, with hummel)
- Best COVID-19 Response by a Club (Blue Family)
- Best Fan Engagement Programme During COVID-19 (Blue Family)
- Sports Diversity Award (‘More Than Eleven’, with hummel)
- Best Sports Community Scheme (Everton in the Community)
Northwest Football Awards
- Community Club of the Season – Premier League (Everton and Everton in the Community)
- Community Initiative of the Season (Blue Family)
Kick It Out Promoting Inclusion Award (All Together Now) - Player of the Season (Dominic Calvert-Lewin)
- Women’s Player of the Season (Izzy Christiansen)
- Rising Star of the Season (Ben Godfrey)
- Women’s Rising Star of the Season (Sandy MacIver)
Charity Today Awards
- Community Impact (Everton in the Community)
Corporate Engagement Awards
- Foundation of the Year (Everton in the Community)