City have become one of the first 10 clubs to achieve Silver in the EFL Equality Code of Practice.
This is a positive first step on the road towards achieving Gold during the next assessment period in the 2025/26 season - which would again put the club among the top-rated in the EFL.
The EFL’s Equality Code of Practice was revamped at the start of this season to become a multi-level accreditation scheme, which will see every one of the 72 clubs assessed on their EDI practices by the conclusion of the 2023/24 season. Every EFL club must achieve Bronze compliance, but City chose to reach the Silver standard as part of a commitment to ensuring that the club is open and accessible for all.
The Silver award comes as recognition of the Imps' ongoing commitment being championed throughout the club and Foundation. There are many ways in which Lincoln City promote this on a multitude of levels across numerous initiatives, including:
- Supporting campaigns such as Rainbow Laces, Her Game Too and Unite for Access to highlight an unwavering commitment to LGBTQ+ Inclusion, Equality, International Women’s Day and Accessibility in conjunction with first-team match themes across the season.
- Running initiatives through the Lincoln City Foundation such as the Extra Time Hub, English in the Community, twinning project, National Citizen Service, Premier League Kicks and Sincil Bank Community as well as providing a Warm Hub for the community.
- Providing audio descriptive commentary devices to supporters who are blind or partially sighted.
- Reviewing and implementing internal policies and strategies across the club regularly to ensure that these are all in line with the commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion.
- Conducting annual diversity surveys both internally and externally for employees and supporters to ensure work can be measured, with successes and areas for improvement being highlighted to shape the future of the club.
- Working alongside Level Playing Field to conduct regular external accessibility audits regarding the LNER Stadium site, to ensure that areas marked for improvement are factored into our operational strategy and acted upon to ensure a pleasant matchday experience for all supporters.
City’s chief executive Liam Scully said: “Everyone involved in ensuring we push to reach this standard can be proud of their achievement - it would have been easy to have settled for Bronze but the whole team, led by our head of governance & compliance Matt Murgett have showed the ambition to achieve more and push for Gold during the next assessment season.
“As a club we want team members, players, fans and any other partner to know that we are a welcoming and safe organisation and provide the same opportunities to everyone.”
The EFL’s director of equality, diversity and inclusion David McArdle added: “Our 72 clubs represent people from a wide variety of diverse backgrounds and its absolutely vital they are representative of those communities whether that be on the pitch, in the boardroom or in the stands.
“It’s particularly encouraging to see clubs striving for excellence in this area and highlighting what can be achieved. Across the leagues the progress being made is very encouraging and the EFL will continue to support and empower all clubs to make a positive impact on their communities and the wider game.”
