Robins land national award

It follows similar accolades at regional and county level earlier this year and means that Carshalton are the first club to scoop the national title as part of the FA’s inaugural Community Awards sponsored by McDonalds.

A statement to the club, co-signed by FA director of football Sir Trevor Brooking and McDonalds director of football Sir Geoff Hurst MBE, said: "This is a tremendous achievement and testament to the hard work and dedication all at the club have shown over the course of the past year."

The Robins will now be eligible to compete against their European counterparts for the UEFA Charter Standard Award later this year.

"This is a wonderful accolade and something every single person involved with the club should be proud of," said Carshalton Athletic chairman Frank Thompson. "When you consider the number of clubs we were up against throughout the whole of the country, it makes the honour even more special."

Thompson paid tribute to club owner Paul Dipre and his wife Clare who "both shared a vision for Carshalton Athletic and have invested a huge amount of time, money and effort into rebuilding it".

"But this is also the result of so many other people’s hard work too, both full time staff and volunteers alike. Everyone has contributed in some way towards this point and this is a wonderful way to say thank you to them all," he added.

The club will collect its award at the official ceremony at the Wembley Hilton on Friday 12 October before England take on San Marino in a World Cup qualifier.