Local heroes win national awards

Two outstanding Shropshire residents were recognised for their contributions to football at The FA Community Shield at Wembley last month.

Michelle Fatcher from Telford and Bernard Polak from Shifnal were commended nationally for their fantastic achievements as volunteers at this year's Football Volunteer Workforce Awards. 

The FA's annual Volunteer Workforce Awards are designed to acknowledge the game's army of unsung heroes who work tirelessly behind the scenes to develop football at all levels.

These two inspiring local volunteers were invited to attend The FA Community Shield between Manchester United and Chelsea as guests of The FA, to receive recognition as national volunteers of the year along with four other volunteers from across the country.

Mick Murphy, Shropshire FA’s  County Development Manager, recognised their achievements: “The County Football Association is always delighted to recognise the efforts made by volunteers and helpers and on behalf of us all at Shropshire FA, I would like to offer thanks and congratulations to both Michelle and Bernard on receiving their county and national awards.  They are an inspiration to people within their clubs and throughout football as a whole.”

Bernard, 55, has been involved with refereeing, managing and chairing Shifnal Town Europeans for 20 years, however not long into the 2008-09 season he was diagnosed with throat cancer. Throughout his treatment, Bernard continued volunteering and despite his personal challenges, his achievements included managing the U16s Red team, who went on to be runners up in the League; organising a very successful mini-soccer tournament involving 35 teams and raising approx £500 in sponsorship from local businesses. As soon as his voice returned, Bernard also started refereeing again.

Bernard also won the County Over-25 Volunteer of the Year award at Shropshire FA’s Football Development Awards in July.  He is always keen to highlight the support given by his family and instead of attending The FA Community Shield game himself, he provided this opportunity to his two sons.

16-year-old Michelle was a very talented footballer, having played for the Shropshire Schools and Wolves Ladies and being offered scholarships at both Arsenal and Chelsea.  However, last year Michelle broke her ankle and despite five operations she was told that she may never be able to play competitive football again. Despite this devastating news, this inspirational teenager has shown real determination and a will to continue to achieve in the game.  She has worked very closely with her School Sport Partnership and the County FA development team in assisting programmes and initiatives and gone on to complete a number of qualifications, including the Junior Football Organiser, Introduction to Futsal and FA Youth Module 1 award.

Michelle also won the County U18 Volunteer of the Year at Shropshire FA’s Football Development Awards.  She has now enrolled onto a Level 2 course which she will begin following her final operation.