MIllwall Community Trust - EFL Day of Action with Paul Robinson and Millwall Romans FC

English Football League (EFL) Day of Action is when all 72 clubs from its three divisions show the positive impact football has had on individuals and the community.

For EFL’s fifth Day of Action, Millwall Community Trust (MCT) wanted to highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion. They put on a special coaching session hosted by Club legend, Paul Robinson at The Den for Millwall Romans FC.

Robinson spoke about the importance of EFL’s Day of Action and said: “We mark this day, the EFL does, but it's a year-round thing. Football's such a good vehicle to spread good messages around the world … also it's good to target certain days to really make sure that these events happen, and that message gets put out to the wider community.”

Millwall Romans FC, previously known as London Romans FC, was created in 2006 and is now the MCT’s inclusive LGBTQI+ team.

Paul Loding, player-manager for the Romans, explained why the team was formed and the importance it has in the community. He said: “The team is for players to come along, play football, be in a more safe space and be a bit more themselves.

It’s very important for the community to have an inclusive team. It’s about providing that safe space. Players are very shy, and particularly in the football world, which is probably quite antiquated in its views. We’re not there to put it in anyone’s face, it’s just about providing that safe space. A player can come along to us, it doesn’t matter if you’re gay, straight, bisexual, transgender, doesn’t make any difference. We don’t want to know, doesn’t matter. It’s just a group who get together and want to play football and feel comfortable in themselves to play football.”

Football can be a good way to ensure and maintain a healthy mental and physical wellbeing. For people in the LGBTQI+ community, that assurance is, as Andy Doyle, a long-time player for the Romans emphasized: “Some people in the LGBTQ+ community are quite vulnerable, and to have that support network is a life-saver for some. They can go somewhere where they can be themselves and relax … It’s hard to place a value on something like this because it’s priceless.”

The Romans formed a partnership last year after being approached by MCT. Sean Daly CEO of the Trust was the initial spark for the partnership. Having been involved with the inclusive teams at Charlton Athletics Community Trust (CACT), Daly saw the success and positive impact CACT had with their teams and wanted to replicate that at MCT.

Daly said: “We’ve got to give opportunities for our community to play football. The world is changing, and we need to make sure we represent the community.”

He contacted the FA and asked for a list of all the LGBTQI+ teams they had in the surrounding area. After selecting and visiting his chosen clubs, Daly felt that the Romans were the perfect addition to MCT.

Since then, it has been nothing but consistent progress and growth within the team. When asked about the support MCT have given to the Romans since partnering up, Loding replied: “We started playing through Millwall in July last year. We’ve taken on so many players and the platform we’ve got now is amazing. Millwall has been great and Sean is such a great guy. MCT give us the kits, training facilities, provisions of a minibus and all these things that allow us to open up to a wider audience”

Doyle added: “It’s been a lot better since partnering with MCT, it’s been a huge game-changer. Our official pitch at St Paul’s is reliable. The brand has definitely attracted people.

We’re a group from all over London and now we’re getting people from Lewisham, Southwark, and Rotherhithe, Millwall’s catchment area and hopefully we’ll just be able to keep the momentum growing.”

Sam Daniel, a newer member of the team has already seen the benefits of partnering with MCT and said: “It’s great being involved with the club I grew up supporting. Everyone is very friendly and always happy to have new people down and getting to do things like the EFL day makes it quite special.

The trust has given the Romans a chance to expand and get more people involved.”

The EFL Day of Action was a success on all sides. Robinson led the team through footballing drills, discussed coaching techniques and styles with the team.

Robinson said: “Yeah great day. I really enjoyed it, met a great group of lads, had an enjoyable afternoon. I mean, to be honest with this season, the way it's gone, not had many opportunities to get down pitch side of The Den as well. So, it's been pretty nice for myself to get on the pitch as well.”

Loding and the Romans enjoyed what the day had to offer. He said: “It’s been great to come over here and do a bit of training with Paul. I loved it, absolutely loved it and the stadium is fantastic!”