Reading Football Club have been shortlisted for three accolades at this year's EFL Awards, with the winners set to be announced at the star-studded ceremony staged at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Sunday 23 April.
New for 2023, the EFL will be presenting the Green Club award and Reading join Bristol City and Northampton Town as candidates shortlisted as possible inaugural recipients in 2023.
Placed as the 9th-ranked club in the Sky Bet Championship in Sport Positive's first EFL Sustainability Table, we have been honest from the moment we launched our #ShowYourStripes home kit last summer that we’ve made a start, but there is work yet to be done in making the club more environmentally sustainable.
However, our strong partnership with the University of Reading and the use of the climate stripes – designed by Professor Ed Hawkins – was the start of our commitment to doing things better. We’ve created conversations and raised the profile among our supporter-base about climate change and, over the course of the season, we have begun to make positive changes towards environmental sustainability.
Our Fan Engagement projects that were part-led, part-driven and often part-delivered by fans themselves during the club's 150th anniversary year have also been recognised. It was a year for the fans, by the fans.
The club join Bolton Wanterers and Lincoln City in the top three candidates for the award - with projects such as our curriculum-based 'Fanfare for the Future' initaitve in schools, our 'Collected' Reading Museum exhibition and the restaging of our first ever match against Reading School widely praised.
Then of course, a couple of our fans played alongside our two Premier League promotion teams in the end of season Legends match which proved a resounding success - and even our project which saw supporters faces painted into the fabric of the stadium as part of the mural rightly earned the Royals recognition in this field.
That's without mentioning the 'Final Whistle' play performed to fans from the home dressing room at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, the Young Royals ambassadors we engaged with to try to offer a voice to the next generation of Royals supporter and the thousands of pounds we raised as a club and a community for our designated charity of the season last year, No5 Young People.
Meanwhile, we also nominated Chair of STAR, Paula Martin for the EFL Supporter of the Season gong and she has been selected as one of the three fans in the running for the award - alongside Les Miller of Luton Town and Diane Blazier at Norwich City.