The power of football and its clubs has been undeniable for some time, its importance and influence increasing year-on-year and extending well beyond the 90 minutes on the pitch. Now, that importance is more apparent than ever, with the positive impact of clubs on their respective communities - including supporters, businesses and educational facilities - brought to the fore by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. And today, Monday 26 October, the EFL is sharing some of the stories of work being done in the community. The work done by Brentford FC Community Sports Trust has never been in question. Formed in 1987 as part of a joint initiative between Brentford Football Club and the two London boroughs of Hounslow and Ealing, the Trust is now one of the leading community organisations linked

Brian Burgess has received congratulations from across Brentford FC and Brentford FC Community Trust after being named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Brian, who has been involved with Brentford FC for decades, was awarded the British Empire Medal, which is granted in recognition of meritorious civil or military service, for his service to football. The citation specifically mentioned Brian’s role as a Trustee of Brentford Football Club Community Sports Trust. Brian has been a Trustee of Brentford FC Community Sports Trust charity since it became an independent trust in 2005. He also played a key role in Bees United, the Brentford Supporters’ Trust, and was Chairman for four years. Read more about the award

Brian Burgess - former Deputy Chairman of Brentford FC and a current Trustee of Brentford FC Community Sports Trust - was named in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. The announcement of the honours, delayed by the Covid-19 outbreak, came yesterday morning and Brian was on the list. He was awarded the British Empire Medal for his service to football. The British Empire Medal is granted in recognition of meritorious civil or military service. Brian, currently an Associate Director, was nominated for his work for the Trust. The citation on the award read: "Brian Robert Burgess. Trustee, Brentford Football Club Community Sports Trust. For voluntary service to Football." Brian was one of the original members of Bees United, the Brentford FC Supporters' Trust, and subsequently became Chair

In a feature shown on Sky last weekend, ahead of our game against Wycombe Wanderers, Brentford FC Chief Executive gave the cameras a behind the scenes look at our new home. He outlined what fans will experience when we can welcome them back to our new home and showed some of the special features of our state-of-the-art stadium. Thanks to Sky Sports for sharing the footage with us.

On Sunday we play our first ever competitive game at our new home. Ahead of the game, Stu Wakeford was given unrestricted access to go behind the scenes at our finished home.

Brentford FC have been talking in depth to Off the Pitch about our Bee Together strategy. Off the Pitch delivers unrivalled football business journalism and insight to subscribers as well as delivering a business intelligence tool to compare data from clubs across Europe. Chief Executive Jon Varney joined Directors Monique Choudhuri and Nity Raj for a conversation about Bee Together, the Club's diversity and inclusion policy. In an interview that lasted more than an hour in early July, the three spoke about lessons learned in recruitment on the pitch - which has just helped Brentford to their highest league finish since 1947 - could be used in other areas. There was a discussion about how the Club looks to grow its fanbase in one of the most diverse areas in the country and that recent

The eyes of the football world will be on Griffin Park this evening but most watching will not be aware of a special Brentford FC anniversary that is also being marked this week. On 28 July 1990, the first steps were taken to form Brentford Women's FC. Three decades on Brentford face Swansea City in the last ever match at Griffin Park and many of the players from Brentford's women's teams that have also graced the turf will be watching and remembering their days on the pitch. The team was formed by Roger Crook in response to the demands from his daughter Amy to play football. Both are part of the matchday team at Griffin Park and work with Brentford FC Community Sports Trust. They took the time, after the Brentford Women's season was halted by the Covid-19 pandemic to tell the story of

Brentford Football Club has been consistent for many years with its position on racial equality. We want everyone to feel welcome at Brentford and will continue to fight racism and discrimination of any kind. The events of the past few weeks have highlighted the importance of this work and we can all do our bit to make a difference. Togetherness is one of our key values as a Club. We pride ourselves on our spirit and togetherness on and off the pitch. We believe that working together has got us to our current position and in the past few months when we have not been able to be physically together, it is the value of togetherness that has helped us get through these incredibly challenging times. We have a dressing room and staff consisting of more than 15 different nationalities and f

Ollie Watkins spoke to one of his biggest fans earlier this month about a special community project. Brentford FC Community Sports Trust launched a new community initiative in early May which saw dozens of children receive free activity packs to keep them active and healthy within their homes. The initiative, developed in partnership with Hounslow Council, saw 600 activity packs delivered across eight housing estates in Hounslow. With the Trust’s involvement in the borough spanning more than three decades, the activity packs were created to replace the free sports and youth activity sessions it usually runs every week in partnership with Hounslow Council. Prior to the govern

Brentford attacked Tariqe Fosu helped run a football session for children from home last week. Tariqe, who joined The Bees from Oxford United in January, transformed his flat into a training ground as he coached children from Brentford FC Communty Sports Trust's Football Development Centre. The live online session was part of the Trust’s #BeeatHome campaign, which encourages children to remain active within their homes or local area. Tariq, who joined Brentford FC in the January transfer window, was more than happy to coach the budding young footballers through a range of drills. He watched them trying them out and gave feedback during the 45-minute video call. See the best bits of the session below. Luke Brooks-Smith, Head of Community Sport at Brentford FC Community Sports Trust,

Brentford FC Community Sports Trust has launched a new initiative which has seen hundreds children receive free activity packs to keep them active and healthy within their homes during this period. The initiative, developed in partnership with Hounslow Council, will see packs delivered across housing estates in Hounslow over the next couple of weeks. The first drop was at Brentford Towers on 6 May. With the Trust’s involvement in the borough spanning more than three decades, the activity packs were created to replace the free sports and youth activity sessions it usually runs every week in partnership with Hounslow Council. Prior to the government lockdown, the Trust was deliv

Whilst visiting our New Stadium Reservation Centre earlier this year, some supporters had the opportunity to virtually experience the stadium with our state-of-the-art VR headsets. Sadly, that isn’t an option at the moment. However, we’re now pleased to release the 360 views on our new stadium website here. You can see the views from our South Stand, where the Premium Seats, Media and Dug Outs are located , or from the North Stand, which includes the Family Area. The West Stand is where many of those who stand on the Ealing Road have chosen to buy their seats, while the East Stand will house the away fans, as well as many Bees supporters in the South East corner. See it all here.

Jon Varney, Brentford FC Chief Executive, spent a couple of hours on Saturday answering questions from fans. The Club worked with the Griffin Park Grapevine, an online forum where Bees fans can offer opinions on everything Brentford related, to put on a video question and answer session for supporters. Jon tackled questions on his time supporting Brentford before taking on the and the current off-pitch situation at the Club.

Calum McHardy, Premier League Primary Starts Coordinator at Brentford FC Community Sports Trust, updates BBC London 94.9FM. He talks about the Covid-19 outbreak and the Trust's #BeeatHome inititiave that is keeping people active in their own homes. Claum was speaking to Phil Parry on Saturday, April 4.