MIDDLESBROUGH FC has been named as one of the best in the country for its work in the community.

MFC Foundation, the charity arm of Middlesbrough Football Club, has been named Yorkshire & North East Community Club of the Year as part of the 2018 English Football League (EFL) Awards.

The club and the foundation will be joined alongside five other regional winners at the House of Commons on Monday to receive their awards with EFL Chairman Ian Lenagan, Sports Minister Tracey Crouch and football presenter Colin Murray.

Middlesbrough will then be put forward alongside the other winners - Blackburn Rovers, Derby County, Charlton Athletic, Bristol City and Portsmouth - to compete for the Community Club of the Year Award, which will be announced at the EFL Awards in London on April 15.

Helena Bowman, head of MFC Foundation, said she was delighted.

"The award is deserved recognition for the board, staff and volunteers at MFC Foundation who have worked tirelessly to develop and deliver programmes of high quality, across Teesside," she said.

"Winning this award creates a great opportunity to tell more people about the work that we carry out in our local community, and we truly believe that by using the power of sport and the Middlesbrough Football Club badge can help to engage those most hard to reach with unique opportunities to inspire confidence and hope.

"We would like to thank Middlesbrough Football Club and all the organisations we work with for their support to help us achieve this.”

Neil Bausor, chief executive of Middlesbrough Football Club, said: "Our relationship with the community is something we see as an important part of the fabric of Middlesbrough Football Club.

"We believe that we have a responsibility to the people of the region, and our Foundation is at the heart of that and does a terrific job in so many different aspects, and with such diverse groups.

"Our football management and players all buy into the community ethos of the club, and that is reflected in their enthusiastic support and active involvement in the work we do.”

Shaun Harvey, chief executive of the EFL, said: “EFL Clubs are based in the heart of communities up and down the country, often in some of the most disadvantaged areas.

"It is important that we recognise the Clubs that have gone that extra mile to make a real difference to the community they represent."