Natalie Haigh has won the PFA Community Champion Award for her community work with the Aston Villa Foundation.
Haigh, who joined Aston Villa Women as a defender in 2019, said: “It has been a real honour to have had the opportunity to be involved in some fantastic projects supported by Aston Villa FC over the past 12 months or so.
“Football provides such a great platform from which we can initiate positive change, and critical to this is the development of partnerships with external organisations.
“This year we have seen some strong collaborations with the Birmingham County FA to help deliver the Female Football Series, as well as the National Literacy Trust to help encourage teenagers to find expression and a voice through literacy, whilst also developing key life skills. More recently we have done some work with 'Villa & Proud' and hope to contribute to their mission to promote equality and diversity within both the club and the wider community.
“It's equally as important to us to consider the younger generation at the club, to provide them with role models and set the standards that are embedded within the club's DNA. Despite its obvious complications, lockdown provided us with a great opportunity to reach out to and connect with our RTC players, and it was great to see the club being so industrious in that sense - generating positive outcomes from such uncertain times.
“Whilst my name is on this award, it's certainly an accolade that belongs to the club for providing us as players with the opportunity to support such worthwhile projects, and to every individual who has given their time so willingly. I'm very much looking forward to seeing how we, as a collective, can continue to contribute to a happy and healthy community in the future.”
Thank you for all your work Natalie and congratulations!
