Bolton Wanderers’ award-winning community cohesion officer Abdul Basit is celebrating a successful year’s work of breaking down cultural barriers with football.

Abdul has picked up three prestigious awards for his work since taking up his post and as the only cohesion officer working for a Premiership club, he’s at the top of his game.

And now he’s been awarded a brand new Renault Twingo to help him continue his work around the town.

The model is one of the latest to join the Renault line-up at Renault Bolton and thanks to its sporty credentials, is ideally suited to the job of travelling from project to project.

Abdul’s day-to-day work involves running training sessions for young people across Bolton, as well as helping to organise community projects that combat racism and encourage ethnic minority players into football. One of his current projects includes Bend it Like Beckham, a football club for Asian girls in Bolton.

For the past year the 31-year-old has been sponsored by Renault Bolton, with the Manchester Road dealership loaning him a Renault Clio to get to his many appointments around the town. The eye-catching car has helped raise his profile and ensured he’s had an enthusiastic reception wherever he goes – at times being mistaken for a Wanderers player.

Duncan Holden, Sales Manager at Renault Bolton said: "We admire the brilliant community work that Abdul does and the success he’s had. We’re committed to supporting our local community and we’re proud that we can help Abdul get around Bolton in style with the loan of a Renault."

Born and raised in Oldham, Abdul was a player and team secretary in Sunday League football before becoming involved in community work with Oldham Athletic, where he became a qualified coach. After a stint with the Football Association in Manchester, Abdul joined Bolton Wanderers a year ago.

His work on the football pitch and in classrooms has been recognised by Asian publishers GG2 with a leadership and diversity award, presented by Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s wife Sarah; the Professional Footballers Association with an award for Best Community Club and recognition as a Champion of Diversity in the Bolton Asian Diversity awards.

The last year has also seen Abdul coaching 4,000 orphans in Malawi, as featured in an award-winning Granada TV documentary.