Sue Prior and Stephen King receive a joint award for Valley Gold recognition of service

Sue Prior and Stephen King received the Valley Gold Recognition of Service award at the club's annual Player of the Year Dinner.

The club would like to offer their thanks to the duo for their tireless work and commitment to Charlton Athletic Women which spans just over two decades.

The award recognises individual service to the team, which can be won by players, staff or volunteers.

Sue Prior has worked closely with the team ever since its formation in 2000. Although officially holding the secretary title, the list of jobs she has done for the club across the seasons has been endless.

From washing the first team’s kit and overseeing the RTC academy, Sue has been at the heart of the club from the very beginning. Sue’s work has been voluntary, and the club would like to thank Sue for everything she has done for over 20 years. 

General Manager of the team, Steve Adamson, said: “I cannot express how much everyone appreciates the hard work she puts in.

“I know I speak for everyone when I say a big thank you, Sue. She's one of those people who make the club and I don't think we would be where we are today without the work she has done.”

Along with Sue, Stephen King’s work was also recognised for all the efforts he has afforded over the years to ensure that the Charlton team did not fold.  

When the Addicks side was disbanded in 2007, the club briefly went over to the Charlton Athletic Community Trust, however, this was not a long term sustainable solution for the club to sit under with the upcoming expansion of the game including the creation of what is now the Women's Super League.

After initially sponsoring and supporting the team, in 2012 King stepped in and became 100% financially responsible for the set-up, taking them over independently just a year later.

As a Charlton fan, he was adamant that the club would not disappear and took it upon himself to help support them. Stephen remained optimistic that the club would return to the top professional divisions of the women's game, and thanks to his efforts, in 2018 the club returned to the second tier after being promoted to the FA Women's Championship.

Steve Adamson was quick to highlight the importance that Stephen had within the club: “The likelihood is the club would not be alive, let alone back in-house and full time without the years of work Stephen did to keep the club alive during the disbanded years.

“People sometimes think of just the finance, but they would not have seen the hours of work that Stephen did to keep the club operating safely.

“I cannot thank Stephen enough for everything he did and I know that in the history books of Charlton Athletic he will go down as the person who stepped up when no one else would. Thank you, Stephen, for everything you have done.”

Prior collected the award for the duo, from Manager Karen Hills, at the club's annual Player of the Year dinner.

Article by Alex Forrest

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