2023 Winner
Community Organisation Award: LGBT
The Justin Fashanu Foundation aims to fight prejudice in professional sports and promote mental health nationwide. The Foundation was created by Amal Fashanu in 2019, the niece of Justin Fashanu who was the first openly gay footballer in the premier league. There is no question that the prejudice he encountered in his professional life as a top-flight footballer blighted his career and led eventually to his death. Still to this day, issues around homophobia, racism and discrimination are rife in football, and the Foundation works tirelessly to combat this. They pride themselves on promoting Inclusion in football and Society as a whole and work closely with local youth groups and government bodies to promote awareness. Their main aim is to help achieve a level of mental health for the young people, and their Mental Wealth initiatives involve actively engaging in the community to help provide activities.