Watford player honoured for community work

Watford star Ken Sema has been named the club's community champion for being a role model to young supporters and inspiring fans with a stammer.

The Swedish international, who joined the club in 2018, is now Watford’s second longest-serving player having joined the club from Oskersunds FK in 2018.

And while he's impressed on the pitch, the 30-year-old's won an army of fans this season for his community work leading to him being named  Watford FC's PFA (Professional Footballers' Association) Community Champion.

It's in recognition for his ongoing support to the club’s official charity Watford FC’s Community Sports and Education Trust, plus much more.

Through his ambassadorial roles, he's supported the club’s free membership scheme for young supporters – the Junior Hornets - at open days or events such as the Christmas party. At trust football camps during the school holidays, Sema has attended and engaged with all children taking part, joining in, and speaking with youngsters with a smile on his face.

It's also no secret Sema has a stammer and when a post-match interview went viral it inspired him to help others with the speech condition.

He teamed up with national charity Stamma, promoting the topic across newspapers and television, including an interview with Sky Sports.

Recently, he met with speech and language specialists at the NHS and visited Harpenden Memorial Hospital to speak with other adults with a stammer. Through shared experiences, he was able to make a real difference.

Sarah Hinton, clinical lead specialist at the NHS’s Adult Speech and Language Therapy department, said: "We all very much enjoyed listening to Ken’s 'take' on stammering – how his speech does not define him as a person and does not govern the decisions he makes in life. We all took away plenty of food for thought, both the service users and clinicians.”

Toward the end of 2023, he attended local homelessness charity New Hope, visiting their haven, and spending time with people staying in the Watford Winter Shelter.

In 2023 he became an ambassador for Watford FC supporters group Women of Watford FC (WOW) to help amplify the group’s voice, while also providing support for their aims and activities.

Speaking about his involvement, Maheta Molango, CEO at the Professional Footballers' Association said: "The PFA has once again been immensely proud of the outstanding efforts of players this season and we feel they should be recognised for their support and involvement in the local community.

"The award will hopefully raise awareness of the importance many of our members attach to their roles off the pitch and highlight their continued commitment to support those most in need along with engaging in areas where they have a personal interest."