Jake Livermore and Romaine Sawyers paid tribute to The Albion Foundation’s disability heroes after handing out the ‘gongs’ at the annual disability awards night.
Albion’s midfield duo were delighted to play their part of a memorable night for the Foundation and its disabled athletes who have provided another memorable year of achievement.
The pair celebrated the incredible achievements of the participants involved with the Foundation’s disability programmes and were on hand to give out 42 awards in total.
“It’s our pleasure and a privilege to be here,” said Jake on behalf of his team mates. “We will do whatever we can to support you guys because you are an inspiration to everyone at the Club.
“This is one big family, we’re all in it together – thank you for inviting us. We all take a lot of inspiration from your efforts.”
The awards saw Albion's acclaimed Powerchair’s WFA Premier League-winning team take star billing as well as the four players who won the European Championships with England in May this year.
Albion Blind’s Darren Harris was also given a special commemorative plate as he called time on his international career with England.
Darren has represented his country on 162 occasions, the record for any Englishman in all forms of the sport.
The Foundation’s Head of Disability, Paul Glover, hailed the evening as a great celebration for the disability programmes.
“It’s so satisfying to see so many happy faces around the room,” said Paul.
“We’re all so proud of everyone who takes part in our programmes, and evenings like this make it so special for them.
“Hearing a few of the inspirational stories that we have just reinforces the amazing players that we have and how many of them have overcome huge barriers to be successful in their respective sports,” added Paul.
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All of the award winners from the evening are listed below.
Pan-Infants
Manager’s Player – Joseph Harris
Players’ Player – Sam Burkitt
Pan-Juniors
WBA Boing
Manager’s Player – Sam Leonisio
Players’ Player – Sam Leonisio
WBA Boldmere
Manager’s Player – Ciaran Lawrence
Players’ Player – Thomas Bennett
Pan-Adults
WBA Stripes
Manager’s Player – Callum Leake
Players’ Player – Joe Doogan
WBA Boing
Manager’s Player – Kyle Hutchinson
Players’ Player – William Attwood
WBA Strollers
Manager’s Player – Daryl Curran
Players’ Player – Daniel Hipkiss
WBA Kings
Manager’s Player – Mitch Hodder
Players’ Player – Bradley Daniels
WBA Baggies
Manager’s Player – Sam Short
Players’ Player – Ben Turner
WBA Throstles
Manager’s Player – Nathan Whitehouse
Players’ Player – Luke Taylor
WBA Sandwell
Manager’s Player – James Day
Players’ Player – James Day
WBA Ladies/All Stars
Manager’s Player – Shannon Rai
Players’ Player – Natalie Walker
West Bromwich Albion Amputees
Manager’s Player – Cameron Boparai
Players’ Player – Richie Wintle
West Bromwich Albion Blind
Manager’s Player – Dylan Malpas
Players’ Player – Darren Harris
West Bromwich Albion Powerchair
QAC Programme
Manager’s Player – Luke Taylor
WBA Stripes
Manager’s Player – Noah Harvey
Players’ Player – Jack Westmorland
WBA Dudley Strollers
Manager’s Player – Evan Sidaway
WBA Baggies Regional
Manager’s Player – James White
Players’ Player – Ollie Rock
WBA Dudley Regional
Manager’s Player – Jack McNaughton
Players’ Player – Jonathan Davis
WBA Dudley National
Manager’s Player – Lewis Harris
Players’ Player – Jack McNaughton
WBA Throstles
Manager’s Player – Luca Wickens
Players’ Player – Amy Wharton
West Bromwich Albion Powerchair First-Team
Manager’s Player – Brad Bates
Players’ Player – Matt Francis
Alex Higgins Volunteer of the Year – Alex Giles
Outstanding Achievement Award – Eesa Amjid
The Foundation would like to thank Bache Group and Sandwell College for their continued support of the charity's work within disability.