Success for Albion at the Football Business Awards

Albion have been successful at the prestigious Football Business Awards, which took place in London on Friday.

The club won the Diversion and Inclusivity award and a silver commendation in the Sustainability category. 

Diversity & Inclusion Award

The LGBTQ+ community in Brighton & Hove is estimated to be three times higher than the national average with 15-20% of adults identifying as lesbian, gay and bi-sexual. The challenge for the club is reflecting our community demographic to ensure we are an inclusive environment and experience for all, be they employees, fans, sponsors, players and participants in our community programmes. 

Initiatives include becoming a major partner of PRIDE in Brighton and supporting PRIDE through the Albion As One fund during the pandemic when there was no parade for two years. We have also signed up once again to be a Pride City Angel. We have formed relationships with the city’s Ledward Centre, a new community and cultural centre opening in Brighton for our LGBTQ+ communities and allies, and The Rainbow Hub, a local point of contact for LGBTQ+ people seeking up to date help, information and guidance in a non-judgemental safe environment.

Internally we have set up an LGBTQ+ staff network.  We also ensure regular staff training on topics such as gender identity and sexual orientation to help ensure a safe and welcoming environment for all colleagues as well as training for matchday staff on how to deal effectively with any incidents of discriminatory language or behaviour.  We have a zero-tolerance approach to any form of discrimination in our stadium. 

Sustainability Award

We are striving to become a sustainable business through the aspirational leadership and commitment by the Chairman and Board, in alignment with club values.

We have a responsibility within the community for us to be a good citizen. We will therefore challenge ourselves, our partners and suppliers to produce and operate in a more sustainable way.

Educating our staff, fans and community that undertaking small changes can have a significant impact on the environment is important to us. Among the initiatives introduced are 400 solar panels at our training ground, a zero waste to landfill operation, implementing an e-ticketing operation and free public transport within the club’s travel zone on production of their match ticket, leading to 42% of attendees travelling to the Amex by train over the last three seasons.

The club were also nominated in a third category for the best digital / social media team and Albion in the Community were nominated in the Best Football Community Scheme category.

The club’s official matchday pie supplier Piglets Pantry also won a silver commendation for the Best Business Serving Football award.