Blues praised for the matchday experience at Fratton
Pompey are one of 51 clubs from across the EFL to have won the Family Excellence Award for the 2016/17 season.
Created in 2007, this honour recognises the outstanding experience provided by clubs for young fans and families, as well as their efforts to enhance the matchday experience.
The club also picked up a Magic Moment award for the way players engage with fans on a matchday and were nominated for the Most Improved Family Experience prize, which was won by Mansfield.
Blues chief executive Mark Catlin said: “We are absolutely delighted as a club to achieve the EFL Family Excellence Award.
“To have also been nominated for the Most Improved Family Experience and win the Magic Moment award is the icing on the cake.
“With Pompey also winning the prestigious ‘Community Club of the Year’ prize at the EFL Awards earlier this month – and, of course, promotion – it caps a truly remarkable month in the club’s recent history.
“This is recognition of a huge team effort over the past year, involving Pompey in the Community and the PST, to revamp our family matchday experience.
“We have improved the environment and signage, while the rebranding to Nelson’s Family Zone has proved very popular, as have initiatives such as providing free fruit for kids, sponsored by Tesco Fratton, and the Junior Blues membership scheme, run by Pompey in the Community.
“The ‘magic moment’ recognition is a tribute to the great squad of players we have here and their commitment to engaging with all fans – particularly our younger ones.”
Now in their 10th anniversary year, an unprecedented number of clubs have attained the Family Excellence Award for 2017, with a significant increase in the benchmark standard being applied by the judging panel.
EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey said: “The EFL Family Excellence Awards have proven to be a fantastic vehicle for celebrating and highlighting the excellent progress that clubs are making in providing families with improved matchday experiences.”
The award recipients are decided using independent assessments from real families, who have made matchday visits across all 72 clubs during the 2016/17 season.