Brentford FC Community Sports Trust’s Senior Manager for Communities Engagement, Graham Goodden was recently presented as Brentford FC’s new Community Captain by Bees forward Keane Lewis-Potter at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Graham received the award as part of the Premier League’s More Than A Game Campaign, which highlights the numerous Premier League-funded community programmes and how they positively impact millions of lives every year.

In his role at the Trust Graham oversees a multitude of Community Engagement schemes including the Twinning Project, Hounslow Youth Service, Street Sports and many more. Graham has also worked across the delivery of the Trust’s Premier League Kicks programme since it was piloted in 2006 and helped to engage with 1,329 unique participants through Kicks in 2023 alone.

Having grown up locally as a Brentford fan, the work the Community Sports Trust does across west London has a close connection with Graham. This has driven Graham’s passion and dedication to go the extra mile to support the local community during times of need, such as his instrumental role in delivering our Christmas Hampers for local disadvantaged families in partnership with a local restaurant. This is just one example of many small gestures that hold a meaningful impact in the community which are reflected in Graham’s day-to-day work.

Graham’s work with the Trust is now also helping to provide better facilities for the local community and he is closely involved with the development of local football facilities including the Cruyff Court at Brentford Towers. Looking ahead, Graham is now working with partner organisations to launch new Playzones in Ealing and Hounslow.

After presenting the Community Captain award Keane Lewis-Potter commented, “It’s a privilege for me to present this award to Graham and hear about all the work he has done in our community for several years. On behalf of everyone at the Club, we are all extremely proud of the work Graham and everyone else at the Community Sports Trust does on a daily basis as we know what a huge impact it makes on the lives of thousands of people across west London. Congratulations Graham!”

Graham spoke of his pride in receiving the award, saying, "I feel incredibly proud to be named Community Captain. It’s a privilege to be in the position to receive this award and it is a reflection of the work the Communities Engagement team does at the Trust.

“Every year we work with thousands of people in the community, not least through the Premier League Kicks programme, and I’d like to pay tribute to the Premier League for this award and the support they provide in our delivery.

"Whilst I have been nominated for this accolade, it is the work of the wider team past and present and project partners that make everything possible across the Communities Engagement area of work. I’d like to say a huge thank you to all those involved."