The FA Charter Standard is all about recognising and rewarding good practice at grassroots football level and this week TheFA.Com highlights the initiative’s seven National Award winners for 2007.

The winners will receive their Awards before England v Estonia at Wembley Stadium on 13 October and today’s featured club is Kent’s Faversham Strike Force.

Faversham Strike Force have made their mark on grassroots football in the country by winning The FA’s 2007 Charter Standard National Club of the Year Award.

The Kent club share this year’s accolade with Norfolk’s Freethorpe YFC and Faversham boss, Gary Axford, can’t believe his club have achieved so much in such a short period of time.

"We’re a young club and only came together in 1999 but we’ve got a great set of volunteers and everyone is chuffed to bits to win this award," he said.

Faversham started life with barely 20 players but the club has expanded at such a rate that they now run 14 teams from under-seven through to U16.

"It was our ambition to be one of the best in the area and the Charter Standard has certainly helped us create an environment of good football practice for local children," added Gary.

Strike Force have started spreading their wings across the wider community and even saved a small-sided school festival from extinction recently.

"The Faversham six-a-side tournament has been running since 1980 and the organisers were looking at knocking it on the head so we stepped in and said we’d take it over as it’s such a good event," Gary explained.

"I’m pleased that we did as it’s certainly helped us form new links with local primary and secondary schools," added Gary, who dreamt up the Strike Force moniker as an alternative to the traditional football club names that pepper the grassroots game.

The club, who are encouraging their older players to stay in football by creating a pathway with nearby senior outfit Faversham Town, are hoping to lay down foundations for a brand new ground in the near future.

"We’ve grown so much over the years and we’ve now reached a level that’s just about manageable for the amount of volunteers involved on a regular basis," explained Gary.

"What we really need now though is our own facility as our existence has been a bit nomadic in the past but hopefully we can come to an arrangement with the local council and secure a regular ground in the long term."