5th August 2026
BDC Football Academy celebrated its 2025/26 season at its inaugural Presentation.
Held at the college, the event brought together students, staff and senior leaders to reflect on a standout season and honour individual achievements across the academy. The awards highlighted not only sporting excellence, but also the positive impact of football on learner development, confidence and engagement.
The presentation showcased the academy’s growth and the impressive progression made by learners throughout the season, reinforcing the important role sport plays in supporting education and employability.
Hornchurch FC’s Colin McBride (Vice Chairman), Daryl McMahon (Manager) and Tom Wraight (Captain) were at the event to give out the awards.
This year’s award winners were:
Players’ Player of the Year: Stefano Blankson
Breakout Player of the Year: Ayyub Ahmed Chowdhury
Manager’s Player of the Year: Charlie Gander
Best Goal of the Season: Jason Effah
Dean Cutting, Curriculum Manager for Sports Academies and Employability at Barking & Dagenham College, said: “This event was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the commitment, resilience and achievements of our Football Academy students. Each award winner has demonstrated exceptional dedication this season, and we are incredibly proud of what all our learners have accomplished both on and off the pitch.
“We’d like to say a huge thank you to Hornchurch FC for all their support on the day as well as over the last season and moving forward into next year.”
The awards ceremony marked an important milestone for the Football Academy, with the college aiming to build on the success of this inaugural event in future years.
Barking & Dagenham College continues to invest in sports education programmes that help students develop valuable life skills including teamwork, discipline, leadership and resilience alongside their academic studies.
The College is still recruiting for Football Academy Courses starting in September, see here for more information and to sign up.
