'I've met amazing people' - Leeds United striker pays tribute to city residents after winning award

The 23-year-old was the Whites' go-to player for video calls, educational messages and community visits this season and having agreed to become their official player ambassador for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, retained his PFA Community Champion title.

A club spokersperson said: "This is the second year in a row the forward has won the award, as he continues to play a significant role in supporting community projects and key initiatives, having kicked-off the season by agreeing to become the Official Player Ambassador for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion [EDI] - a first for the club and a Leeds United player.

"The Wales international remains passionate with regards to his work around EDI, and this new role has allowed him to continue supporting various campaigns such as No Room For Racism and Black History Month - sharing his own stories and views, whilst helping to educate youngsters and supporters around the important subject.

"Throughout the season, the 23-year-old has been on hand whenever called upon, taking part in virtual calls, filming sessions and media interviews, delivering educational messages and once able to he was also the first player to head back out into the community for a face-to-face visit, completing several before the end of the campaign."

Roberts has also developed a relationship with the Premier League Kicks programme, a youth outreach scheme that began 10 years ago with the aim of creating safer communities through the coaching and mentoring of young people. Roberts spent time learning about the programme's various projects and partners and made a personal donation to help support young participants, while promising to return to a session early next season.

He says it's a matter of family pride to win the award and the community visits have helped educate him on various issues around the city.

“I'm really thankful to win this award again, when I received it last year it made my family really proud to see me be recognised for helping to try and bring the community up in different aspects," he said.

"I’ve met some amazing people during my visits to all different places and learnt about things that wouldn’t have come to my attention without this. So, I'd like to say a big thank you to all of the staff at Leeds and I’m excited to bring more of the ideas we have to life in the near future.”