Groundsmen honoured for impressing at the real grass roots.

Fleetwood Town, Trafford, Shortwood United and British Airways are among the clubs celebrating after receiving national recognition for their playing surfaces this year.  

With the majority of football in England played outside the Premier League and Football League, the quality of pitches is essential for the development of football all over the country.

Grassroots groundsman, the vast majority of whom are volunteers, play a huge role in ensuring pitches are in their best possible condition, week in, week out.

The Groundsman of the Year Awards, now in their tenth year, were set up to recognise the contribution of these ‘unsung heroes’, who work in all weather, all year round, to make sure that thousands of matches can take place on a high standard of playing surface.

The seven awards are each a part of a nationwide competition for non-League football and are handed out every year to the groundstaff judged the best by six Premier League and Championship groundsmen.

After receiving the nominations from Leagues and County FAs, the judges not only looking at the quality of the pitch, but also take into consideration skills and knowledge, ambitions for the pitch, resources available, how often the pitch is used, and the amount of time they are able to work on the pitch.

The winning Groundsmen in each category have all been presented with a trophy at their clubs during pre-season and have also been invited as guests in The FA Club for today’s England v Wales Euro 2012 Qualifier.

One of the winners, Graham Foxall, who scooped the Northern Premier League Award for the impressive pitch at Trafford's Shawe View ground, considered the prize as a great honour.

"I must admit it does give me a great feeling of pride considering all the hours my assistant and I put in during the season without any renumeration," beamed Foxall.

"It is, in my opinion, important for any groundsman or aspiring groundsman to produce the best playing surface possible with whatever funding and machinery is available because it reflects on the club.”

He added: "To receive The Groundsman of the Year award for the Northern Premier League and to be placed third nationally at Steps 3 and 4 is the icing on the cake.

"I have been knocking on the door for a few seasons now and have always sought to improve the playing surface irrespective of awards."

"Once again a very strongly contested awards this year with high quality contenders and outstanding winners,” said Peter Kay, The FA’s Senior National Game Facilities and Investment Manager.

“We are experiencing some extremely difficult times, with financial pressures on all budgets and it is very gratifying to see that despite that a huge amount of personal investment of time and energy has been put into the pitches upon which we all rely to enjoy our national game."

Mervyn Leggett, Chairman of The FA Pitches and Facilities Committee, added: “It’s right that we recognise and reward the valuable contribution that Groundsmen make to our National Game and the Pitches and Facilities Committee places great emphasis on these awards.

"Despite enduring one of the severest winters for many years the groundsmen nominated for these awards maintained their pitches to a high standard, all having a common goal of providing the best possible playing surface for their club.”

The Award Winners

The Football Conference Award
Winner Dale Frith, Fleetwood Town
Runner-Up Dick Peters, Dover Athletic
Third Place Mick Conway, Telford United
Highly Commended Graham Wood, Hyde and Derek Powell, Woking

Northern Premier League Award
Winner Graham Foxall, Trafford
Runner-Up Michael Grimmer, Stocksbridge Park
Third Place Stuart Turner, Quorn
Highly Commended Peter McGee, Skelmersdale United and Philip Varney, Belper Town

Southern League Award
Winner Paul Kuhn, Brackley Town
Runner-Up Steve Barker, Hitchin Town
Third Place Idris Elms, Leamington
Highly Commended Jeff Hinde, Uxbridge and John Croft, Clevedon Town

Isthmian League Award
Winner Simon Rudkins, Hastings United
Runner-Up Brian Quinnell, Bognor Regis Town
Third Place Brian Adamson and Rob Darby, Corinthian Casuals
Highly Commended Vanessa Smith, Maldon & Tiptree and Dave Bidwell, Harlow Town

Step 3 & 4 National Award
Winner Paul Kuhn, Brackley Town
Runner-Up Simon Rudkins, Hastings United
Third Place Graham Foxall, Trafford
Highly Commended Michael Grimmer, Stocksbridge Park and Stuart Turner, Quorn

Step 5 & 6 National Award
Winner Mark Webb, Shortwood United
Runner-Up Benny Watts, West Allotment Celtic
Third Place Shaun Pugh, Burnham Ramblers
Highly Commended Terry Homer, Brocton, Dan Oliver/Andrew Cubitt, Ipswich Wanderers and Geoff Harris, Coventry Copsewood

Step 7 and Below National Award
Winner Malcolm Gardner, British Airways
Runner-Up James Fennessy, London Maccabi Lions
Third Place John Burrows, Medbourne
Highly Commended Roger Crotty, Inkberrow, Peter Conroy, Liverpool CFA Youth and Mark Zipfel, Thetford Rovers

Click here for details of the 2010 winners