Newcastle United Foundation has earned the prestigious Professional Club - Community Award at the prestigious ISC International Sports Awards 2021.

The charitable arm of Newcastle United earned the accolade awarded by the International Sports Convention, in celebration of “the finest sports work in the world”.

The Foundation was nominated in the category alongside other community-minded organisations in Brazil, Spain, England, and Scotland in recognition of their work to make a positive change in society through sport.

A judging panel revealed Newcastle United Foundation as overall category winners in honour of the charity’s work to support up to 66,000 people annually across the North East using the popularity and pride in Newcastle United to motivate, engage and inspire.

Now in it’s sixth year, the ISC International Sports Awards received the largest number of awards applications to date from across the globe and fellow winners in 2021 included LaLiga, the DP World Tour Championship, NBA - Basketball African League, and Tokyo 2020 Olympic medallist Maria Andrejczyk.

Steve Beharall, Head of Newcastle United Foundation, said: "We are incredibly proud to earn international recognition for our community work going on right here, in the North East of England.

“This award rounds off a remarkable period in the Foundation’s history, where our day-to-day operations have adapted to overcome so many challenges that have arisen out of the coronavirus crisis.”

He added: “We would like to thank the ISC for this fantastic recognition of our community work which would not be possible without the support of Newcastle United Football Club.”

The Foundation engages children, young adults, families, and older generations through 43 individual community, employability, educational ,and health and wellbeing programmes in schools and community venues from Northumberland to County Durham.

The charity’s latest award comes as the Foundation moves closer to completing its most ambitious project to date, constructing NUCASTLE, powered by Newcastle Building Society, in the city’s West End, which will become a world-class community facility serving the North East from March 2022.

Hosted annually, the ISC International Sports Awards serve to recognise the hard work and innovative thinking of individuals, groups, and companies connected by sport across the world.

A judging panel made up of ISC Sports Biz Club members agreed on award winners across seven categories. A full list of ISC International Sports Awards 2021 winners can be found here.

For more information about the Foundation and programmes near you, follow Newcastle United Foundation on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter for regular news and updates.