CommunityReds name Ted Morris as Community Captain to help mark PL anniversary
Ted Morris has been named Liverpool FC's Community Captain in recognition of his incredible work leading the Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association.
As part of the Premier League’s 30th anniversary celebrations, the Community Captain honour is being given to more than 100 members of the public who have made an outstanding contribution to their club and local community.
Working closely with the club, Ted and the LDSA have been able to provide a number of once-in-a-lifetime experiences for disabled supporters and members, as well as delivering food parcels, providing free meals to children, hosting virtual cooking nights, and allowing junior members to experience hospitality at Anfield for free.
In the last two years the LDSA has reached more than 11,656 members of the community and now has more than 1,200 members.
Ted, secretary of the LDSA, received the accolade at Anfield last week and said: “I’m honoured and humbled to have been nominated for this award, it really means a lot to me and will mean a lot to the people I represent.
“I’m passionate about what I do, and I don’t do it for recognition, but I am absolutely honoured to have been given the Community Captain award.”
Presentations to the Community Captains form part of the Premier League Trophy Tour, which is visiting more than 50 professional, non-league and women’s clubs across England and Wales who receive funding from the Premier League.
Reds legend Jamie Carragher was in attendance to surprise Ted with a PL30 Community Captain armband and pennant.
“It’s thoroughly well-deserved for Ted and the group he represents to win the Community Captain award,” said Carragher. “He is a great spokesperson for the Liverpool disabled supporters group, but also Liverpool supporters in general.
“Ted has done some fantastic work for Liverpool’s disabled community, and I think he will continue to play a big role in the club in the future, which shows how highly well thought of Ted and his group are. Long may that continue.”
Rishi Jain, senior manager of equality, diversity and inclusion at LFC, said: “Ted is someone who always puts disabled supporters at the forefront of all that he does. I’ve worked with him for over a year now and the LDSA has grown by over 25 per cent during that time.
“That comes down to the inspiring work he does to give disabled supporters more opportunities to attend games and take part in once-in-a-lifetime experiences, such as having wheelchair users on the pitch at Anfield at the end of last season.
“We’ve worked hard to raise the profile of the LDSA and Ted’s commitment to inclusion is what makes the approach so successful. The work he does across all aspects of equality – supporting Pride events, LFC Foundation and the work we do across the club – is what makes him a well-deserving Community Captain.”
A plaque engraved with Ted’s name was also added to a bespoke Premier League trophy plinth created for the tour.
He added: “Receiving the award from Jamie and Rishi, who are supportive of what we do, means so much. We couldn’t do a lot of what we do without them, Liverpool Football Club and the 23 Foundation that support our disabled children and fans.”