How we've made a difference

Primary school students from two local schools attended our racism education event at Vicarage Road. The Trust partnered with Show Racism the Red Card to deliver an afternoon packed with activities and a Q&A session with academy defender Derek Agyakwa and Golden Girls captain Helen Ward. Watford legend, Luther Blissett OBE DL, and Watford FC Women’s Joint Head Coach, Laura Dyer were also in attendance.

To celebrate International Women’s Day, the Trust ran a poetry competition, inviting classes from Year 4 to Year 6 to create a poem about gender equality. Our winner, Rebecca, was surprised at school by Golden Girls captain Helen Ward! 

The Club and Trust came together to showcase that football is everyone’s game, with staff and supporters across the Sir Elton John stand coming together to wear coloured T-shirts representing the rainbow flag at the Men’s First Team game against Chelsea FC. 

This can’t just be about getting others to think responsibly when it comes to protecting our planet – environmental sustainability is everyone’s responsibility. That is why we’re working with Watford Football Club and, where relevant, the consultants at ClearVue. We already have recycling bins available at our facilities and are currently monitoring energy usage at both our community hubs, Cedars Youth and Community Centre and Meriden Community Centre. We’ve also begun installing LED lighting at the centres, thanks to funding from the Football Foundation and the John Lyon’s Charity.

We directly engage with thousands of people each year, not to mention the huge reach of Watford Football Club both on matchday and online, which is why it’s important for us to use our platform to raise awareness and create action amongst our communities. Examples of this can be seen with our primary school projects in which we deliver social action projects, which aim to increase participants’ knowledge of environmental issues. Elsewhere in secondary schools, environmental sustainability sessions form part of our social action content and are a key theme within our programme. We’ve also had school groups take part in litter picking both in the school and the local community, planting, and maintenance at a local allotment.

You can now help us win a sustainable league against other clubs.  Sign up at https://app.planetleague.co.uk/ and your green goals will help us climb to the top of the table!