Queen's Birthday Honours: Pompey in the Community CEO 'in awe' to be made an MBE after leading on the design and construction of community football stadium

Clare Martin, chief executive of award-winning charity Pompey in the Community, has been recognised as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

The 56-year-old has been with the company for about 20 years, and received the award for her services to the community in Portsmouth after her work leading on the design and construction of John Jenkins Stadium and education centre in the city which will house ‘a hub for Pompey’.

During the pandemic, Clare also helped initiate a huge rally to donate food parcels to ‘many hundreds’ of vulnerable and elderly residents, amounting to about 400 to 500 parcels delivered each week between most of March to August 2020. It carried on to a lesser extent the following year.

The feat saw Pompey players, staff, volunteers and some of the club’s staff link up with The Hive in Portsmouth to coordinate a food response.

Speaking on the recognition, she said: ‘I'm in awe of it to be honest. I find it much harder to have an award that's for me rather than the organisation because it's never ever about one person. It's always about the team.

‘It's recognising that I am the figure head but for it's for the organisation as much as it is for me.

‘It's just such an honour, especially with the birthday honours link to the Platinum Jubilee.’

Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, leader of Portsmouth City Council, was full of praise for Clare and hailed her as one of the city's top citizens.

He said: 'She is one of the city's stars. She has done this through thick and thin when there have been problems. She has been the bedrock on which Pompey in the Community.

'She has been really important to the city. When I talk to people around the country about the work Pompey in the Community does, people recognise that it is probably the best in the country throughout the Football League and the Premier League.

‘It has done incredible, innovative work with young people and I'm so pleased for her.'

Through the work of Pompey in the Community, Clare promotes health, education and inclusion and runs programmes on raising awareness of prostate cancer, back to work for the long-term unemployed and amputee football and reparation projects for young offenders.

Pre-Covid the charity helped 37,000 individuals each year.

The John Jenkins stadium will include a boxing gym, classrooms, a dance studio, a café and changing room facilities.

She said: ‘[I think I will have a stand out moment] when we open a facility that we've been working towards for so so long. I think that will be the moment but we've got a long way to go yet before that moment.’

During the pandemic Clare used her initiative along with scores of people from the community to do their bit.

Clare said: ‘I approached the city council and said we've got the fleet of vans, thinking I'm sure we can do something to help.’

Claire has run National Citizen Service (NCS) programmes and has been recognised for several projects by the English Football League Community Awards.