Derby County Community Trust are pleased to announce that Derby County goalkeeper Kelle Roos has been nominated for the latest ‘Community Player of the Year’ accolade for the 2020 EFL Awards.
Roos has been a consistently community-focused player over the last few seasons, supporting the work of the Community Trust through player appearances and encouraging further community work in his support of local fundraising campaigns. He is always keen to engage in numerous campaigns, from supporting schools’ delivery to mental health sessions and kids’ football.
He was also a key supporter in the #KeepAudrinaDancing campaign, gifting the Rams’ Wembley mascot with a pair of his own gloves.
He said: “It’s always really enjoyable to get out in the community. It’s always great to see the buzz we can make [as footballers] in but we get the buzz off it too.
“There’s always the thing in football that you have to believe in yourself, it’s sometimes hard to pick yourself up after a bad game or an injury, to keep going and bounce back from setbacks which hopefully we can show others who follow the team.”
Simon Carnall, Head of Community, said: “Kelle always gets involved in community sessions when he comes along and has made a lasting impression on our participants.
“Last year, when he attended our Get Set to Go launch – a football session for those with mental health problems, he even bought one of our participants a new pair of boots after he’d damaged his beyond repair.
“Not many people might have thought to do that, but this sort of generosity doesn’t go unnoticed and we are really pleased to nominate him as our Player in the Community this year.”