As I am sure you are aware, before Christmas we received some fantastic news. On Monday 16th December, Ben Clasper and I attended the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) awards night at The Tower of London. The FSA is the national, democratic, representative body for football supporters in England and Wales. The FSA awards are the largest supporter led awards in the country that cover a range of aspects across football in England and Wales. Dulwich Hamlet were nominated alongside Bath City, Boston United, Dagenham and Redbridge, Stockport County and Whitehawk FC for the National Game Community Award. This award recognises the commitment to and the impact clubs have on their local community. I’m delighted to announce that:

Dulwich Hamlet FC are the FSA’s Community Club of the year 2019!

This is a fantastic achievement for any club but even more so for a club that little over 12 months ago was fighting to stay alive. For quite some time now, we as a club have made a conscious effort to engage with our community and support what is important to them. Our community has responded and had it not been for them, we would not be here today. This award is testament to the hard work, dedication and commitment of everyone involved at Dulwich Hamlet FC. This would not have been possible without the response we have had from our fans. Putting on a community initiative is relatively straightforward. Getting everyone to buy into it and support in their thousands is the challenge. That is something we have achieved and something we should all be incredible proud of. Thank you everyone!

Our club, which has had to fight against all odds, is still alive and kicking and is now being recognised, on a national level, for all the fantastic things we have achieved off the pitch. There are too many people to mention individually but I’d like to take this opportunity to recognise the involvement of our Supporters’ Trust. In the last year, they have gone above and beyond in helping to run and support our community events. There has been a real shift towards the club and Trust working hand in hand with a common community goal. This is something The Trust and I are keen to develop further as we approach 2020. On that note, The Trust are always looking for volunteers. I would encourage anyone with the time to come forward and offer their services. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes in preparation for a match day and any commitment of time would be greatly received – many hands make light work! Get in contact with Scolly or Mel who wold be delighted to get you involved in their band of volunteers.

Finally, this award is down to the club’s work for many years. This type of recognition doesn’t happen because of one idea or initiative. This award recognises Dulwich Hamlet’s commitment to their community for many years. My involvement, as part of the community team, has been fairly recent. I inherited a role which has been built up and established by my predecessors. This is testament to their work as much as it is to the current community team.

On behalf of the club, I would like to dedicate this award Mr Dulwich himself – Mishi Morath. Without his hard work and dedication over the years, this award would not have been possible.