ALBION'S Community Programme and the club's visually impaired football team are among 30 individual athletes, teams, clubs and supporters from across the West Midlands to be short-listed for this year's prestigious npower Disability Sports Awards, to be held at Villa Park tomorrow.

The Community Programme's disability project, 'One Albion', which is funded by sponsor Egg and Sportsmatch, is one of three finalists in the npower Partnership Award.

It's a new category for the 2008 awards, specifically for corporate sports clubs.

It aims to recognise the specific role played by larger organisations in disability sport.

'One Albion' is working to establish Albion's Disability Football Club as a competitive sports club for young people and adults with disabilities, playing at grass roots and elite level in local, regional and national competition and providing entry routes into competitive sport.

It started with one, visually impaired football team and now includes powerchair football, pan disability football and B1 (Blind) football.

The club is also in the process of developing a wheelchair basketball team.

In 2007, 160 people benefited from the 'One Albion' project.

The two other finalists in the category are Worcester Rugby Football Club and Warwickshire County Cricket Club.

Albion's VI football team is in the running for the Team-of-the-Year Award and is up against some stiff competition in the form of Chadsgrove Athletics and the Villa Rockets.

A number of sporting personalities will be at the awards evening supporting the English Federation of Disability Sports' annual event, which aims to raise the profile of disability sports and the tremendous achievements made by competitors of all ages, their coaches and supporters.

Celebrity guests will include the Football Association's director of football development, Sir Trevor Brooking, former Albion striker, 'Super' Bob Taylor, paralympian and world Number One Boccia player, Nigel Murray, rower Tom Kay and wheelchair basketball paralympian and now assistant coach to the GB basketball team, Sinclair Thomas.

Former Villa chairman, Doug Ellis OBE, will also continue to support the event.

Eleven awards will be presented on the night, recognising competitors of all ages and standards, schools and teams and people who participate in a supporting role as volunteers or ambassadors of sport.

Kevin Rodgers, community involvement for npower, says: "West Bromwich Albion is a fine example of how a major sports club can develop sports opportunities for all within its local community.

"The finalists in the first npower Partnership Award are certainly setting the bar high."

Dennis Hodgkins, regional development manager at the EFDS, is expecting the awards to be a hard-fought competition, saying: "This is an important year for disabled athletes, with the Beijing Paralympics around the corner.

"Many of our nominees are competing at international level and awards like these provide motivation and recognition of success.

"Nothing gives me greater pleasure than seeing clubs like West Brom leading the way by providing resources - personnel, financial and logistical - to their community sports programme."