PROMOTION to the Premier League will help create “a lasting legacy” for disability football in Sussex, Albion’s charitable arm has said.

Albion in the Community (AITC) chief executive Matt Dorn believes the Seagulls’ top promotion will open up new funding available only to Premier League clubs, raise the profile even higher of the award-winning charity and inspire more people to take up the sport.

The charity is already one of the largest providers of disability football in the area, running more than 25 regular sessions across the county.

Top-flight status could also mean additional funding for other AITC projects, ranging from free football sessions in deprived communities, working with more than 130 schools, apprenticeships and further education opportunities, mental health football sessions and pioneering health programmes.

Some of the funding will be required to replace the “not insubstantial” figure the charity receives from the English Football League.

It is also hoped the increased focus will lead to more people coming to AITC sessions and more businesses looking to support the charity’s work.

Mr Dorn said: “For AITC, the chance to secure some additional funding will obviously be fantastic but aside from that, the added exposure of the club will be hugely beneficial.

“We currently work with more than 30,000 people across Sussex.

“It is difficult to say how many more people the club’s Premier League status will help us work with but we do expect it to significantly expand our ability to reach people and engage them in our work.

“Promotion has given us a real chance for us to create a legacy for disability football here in Sussex.”

A large portion of AITC’s running costs is generated through fundraising and the charity will still be indebted to fundraisers’ generosity.

Mr Dorn said: “Promotion does not give us a bottomless pit of extra money. We invest around £3.2 million a year in some of the most-deprived communities in the South. We would still need fans to support us with fundraising.”

The charity runs four teams that compete in national competitions, two that play regionally and 17 in the Sussex Disability Football League.

Disability manager Paul Brackley said: “Being part of the Brighton and Hove Albion family is something players from our disability teams take enormous pride in.

“To have the Albion first team playing in the Premier League, against the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea, would mean so much to the players from our disability teams.”