Wolves Foundation have revamped their accessible lounge to offer supporters a better matchday experience and bring it into more regular use during the week, with thanks to the Premier League Fans Fund.
Situated in the concourse of the Stan Cullis Stand, the new Century Lounge will become a purpose-built facility to be used for more of the many different projects delivered by the Foundation, as well as offering a stylish and comfortable experience for the club’s disabled supporters on a matchday.
Investment has been provided by the Premier League Fans Fund, which provides grants to support football clubs at all levels of the game to strengthen connections between them, their fans, and local communities.
The fund supports a range of fan-focused and fan-led projects, helping to foster a sense of belonging through meaningful engagement. This includes schemes for under-represented groups, to further develop an inclusive and welcoming matchday experience for everyone.
In honour of the memory of the late, great Baroness Rachael Heyhoe Flint, the former club Vice-President and cricketing legend, the facility has been named the Century Lounge, to acknowledge her incredible impact and continuing legacy.
The Foundation would also like to thank Paycare, who had sponsored the lounge since its inauguration back in 2013, and will continue their loyal and considerable support of Wolves’ official charity in their role as Pack Patrons.
“We are delighted to have carried out a revamp of our accessible lounge, ensuring we can deliver an even better experience for our disabled supporters on a matchday, for whom it is such an important and popular facility,” says Head of Wolves Foundation, Will Clowes.
“These changes will make it more comfortable and welcoming for them to enjoy whilst attending fixtures, and will make such a positive difference in keeping with the club’s commitment to making football at Molineux as inclusive as possible.
“Rachael Heyhoe Flint was always such a strong advocate of the club’s work in the community – she was the driving force in the charity starting out many years ago – and renaming our facility the Century Lounge with a nod to her cricketing past ensures we will continue to remember the incredible work she delivered for the club and the people of Wolverhampton.
“I must also pay tribute to the continuing loyalty and dedication provided by Paycare, who have been huge supporters of the Foundation from its early years and will continue to do so in different ways in their role as a Pack Patron.”
“Being able to revamp the lounge to make it more user-friendly is all thanks to generous funding provided by the Premier League Fans Fund, for which we are extremely appreciative.
“The added bonus of the investment is that not only will it grow our engagement and improve fan experience on a matchday, but also mean we can deliver more of our regular sessions across health and education in a more comfortable and accessible environment, increasing our reach.”
The Century Lounge was officially launched this week with Wolves’ on-loan midfielder Tommy Doyle joining players from Wolves Disability FC and representatives from the Premier League at the opening.
Open to 120 professional football club community organisations in the Premier League, English Football League, National League, Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship, the Premier League Fans Fund builds on the Premier League and clubs’ commitment to ensuring long-term engagement with supporters.
Premier League Director of Community, Nick Perchard, added: “Fans are the lifeblood of football and their commitment to, and involvement with, their local club is essential to the continued success of the game at every level.
“Through the Premier League Fans Fund we are investing in projects that will enhance connections between clubs and fans, whilst also delivering even more community impact. By supporting clubs across England and Wales, from both the men’s and women’s game, to develop projects that respond directly to the needs of their fans, we can help to ensure that football offers a fantastic experience for everyone.”
Premier League funding supports projects that respond to local need, and which aim to improve the match day environment for fans and/or residents, address fan behaviour, and community impact such as the cost-of-living crisis, build upon a club's heritage and engage and support underrepresented fan groups (disability, ethnicity, LGBTQ+, women and girls).
Delivery is often themed around tackling inequalities to create community cohesion, covering areas like equality, diversity, and inclusion, mental health and wellbeing, physical health and wellbeing, providing education and training opportunities, supporting employability, and/or sustainability.
Funding is flexible to empower professional football clubs, and their community organisations, to develop fan-focused and fan-led projects that respond directly to the needs of their local community.
The Premier League Fans Fund is administered through the Premier League Charitable Fund.
To find out more about the Premier League Fans Fund, please visit premierleague.com/plcf.
