We are delighted to announce that Luton Town – along with Reading and Blackburn Rovers – are to be celebrated as the most family friendly Clubs of the last 12 months as the EFL reveals the divisional winners ahead of this Sunday’s 2018 EFL Awards.
The three Clubs will now go head-to-head to be crowned the overall winner of the AmazeRealise Family Club of the Year which will be announced on the night of the EFL Awards, with the star-studded event at the London Hilton on Park Lane attended by players, managers, Clubs, legends of the game and media.
Reading, winners of the Family Club of the Year honour in 2010, represent the Sky Bet Championship, Blackburn Rovers have been selected as the best in League One whilst the Hatters represent League Two, according to the EFL, "for their continued year-on-year commitment and focus on improving experiences for families and young supporters".
A delighted Town chief executive Gary Sweet said: “We are so proud to be named League Two Family Club of the Year, especially as we approach the tenth anniversary of 2020’s custodianship of Luton Town Football Club. Building a strong community and family culture has always been at the top of our agenda since taking over when the club was at its lowest ebb.
“When we returned to the EFL almost four years ago, we did not even get a family excellence accreditation in our first season, given that we have to implement these activities in such an old stadium.
“We started from scratch, using families from our staff and supporter base, putting in place a strategy based on family friendly benefits designed by our young supporters and club staff with families, to take us to a point where we could gain that recognition - something we have done for the last two seasons.
“We introduced a number of initiatives which have been successful in helping us engage with families, including family fun days, the appointment of a junior supporters’ liaison officer, scarves for first-time supporters, kids’ lunch bags and the opportunity to interview a player, among many others that add to the matchday experience.
“Our delight at now being recognised as the best in our division at delivering these projects is even more so when you consider that our staff and volunteers have been able to achieve this despite the difficult constraints of operating in an old stadium, penned in by houses.
“Thank you to all who have contributed to bringing this fantastic accolade to our club, our community and our town, despite the limitations.
“As much as we love Kenilworth Road, the thought of wonderful state-of-the-art facilities and space to explore at a new stadium gives us all at LTFC the aim of being leaders in family excellence by the time we relocate to Power Court.”
The Hatters will be presented with the League Two award at the EFL awards on Sunday, when as well as discovering if we are successful overall, we will also find out if Olly Lee’s 70-yard strike against Cambridge United last November has won Goal of the Season.
Nathan Jones’ squad are also proudly represented by five players – Alan Sheehan, Dan Potts, Jack Stacey, Luke Berry and Danny Hylton – in the League Two team of the season, selected by managers throughout the division.
A huge well done to all concerned - and here's a video showing a glimpse of what goes on at Kenilworth Road on a matchday to make it a memorable day for families!