Millwall Football Club and Millwall Community Trust are delighted to announce that Billy Mitchell has won the 2022 PFA Player in the Community Award for the Sky Bet Championship.

A local boy, Billy is passionate about giving back to the community he grew up in and has experienced first-hand the benefits of Millwall’s community work.

Despite his young age, the 21-year-old has demonstrated great levels of maturity and professionalism while connecting with local people of all ages and background, using the power of football to strengthen the community.

“Becoming heavily involved in work with Millwall Community Trust is a no-brainer for me," Mitchell said. "As someone who grew up in the local area and benefited from MCT’s outstanding work, giving something back only seems right.

“The sessions that the Trust put on, as well as the education they give, is vitally important in and around The Den and I am only happy to continue producing my input to put smiles on faces.”

Meanwhile, Sean Daly, MCT CEO, added: “Billy has always been very supportive of the Community Trust and the work it does in the local area. Billy has been a player ambassador with responsibility for NCS projects for the last two seasons, and even during these challenging times for the local community he has shown his support on various initiatives like the NHS Hospital Heroes project and our free of charge food and activity sports camps etc. Billy has shown maturity for his age and uses his platform as a professional footballer to host workshop talks for the Trust around current topics such mental health and EDI.”

“For such a young player, Billy has an incredibly professional approach to everything he does around being a footballer," said Gary Rowett. "I’ve scarcely come across a player with work ethic like his and very clearly those endeavours stretch beyond what happens on the pitch into far more life-changing matters. Its community work is something that the football club takes incredibly seriously, and Billy is a shining example of the impact that it can make. He is a great ambassador for Millwall, for the community and his family, and is a true credit to himself.”

Furthermore, Steve Kavanagh, Millwall CEO, commented on Billy's accolade by saying: “Billy is a player who has risen through our Academy and as such, the club’s culture, traditions and values are ingrained in him, and that is why he places so much importance in the community work that he does. A lot of players go home after training and occupy their free time in various ways, but I know that Billy is someone who wants to derive maximum benefit from his. What he chooses to do is benefit others and I think that’s an incredibly admirable and mature attitude for someone so young.”

The winners from each of the three EFL divisions will contest the overall award, with the winner announced live at the EFL Awards on Sunday 24th April.

2022 PFA Players in the Community

Sky Bet Championship - Billy Mitchell (Millwall)
Sky Bet League One - Ryan Inniss (Charlton Athletic)
Sky Bet League Two - Omar Beckles (Leyton Orient)