Groundsman marking a football pitch

FA Groundsman of the Year Awards 2019

The time has come for you to nominate your club's groundsman for the FA Groundsman of the Year Awards!

The time has come to nominate the unsung heroes of grassroots football and nominate a groundsman who goes above and beyond to ensure the beautiful game is played on beautiful pitches.

Each County FA will be collating nominations over the next  month and will then submit their top 3 applications to The FA, for independent judging as part of The FA National Awards.

The Groundsmen at this level of football are nearly all volunteers who give up hours of their time to provide the best pitches possible using very few resources. This competition is a great way for these volunteers to get recognised on a local and national level whilst also having the opportunity to meet and talk with the professional Groundsmen who conduct the judging.

Summary of 2017/2018 Awards


The Awards Day followed in the footsteps of the successful 2017 competition and took place in mid-August at St George’s Park. The nominees were given a guided tour of the site along with demonstrations of the latest machinery by our Pitch Improvement partners. There was also a question and answer workshop with professional groundsmen from Southampton, Burnley and Manchester City along with Scott Brooks Head Groundsman at St George’s Park. The awards ceremony took place in the afternoon with members of The FA Facilities Committee presenting the winners with their certificates and trophies.

The winners were also pleasantly surprised to hear that they would also receive £12,500 for machinery and materials to help improve their pitch courtesy of our sponsorship with Budweiser. The feedback we received from our guests was overwhelmingly positive and we are extremely excited to see what this season brings.

Last Season Derbyshire FA Winners

The top three Groundsmen in Derbyshire were from Clay Cross Town FC, Hilton Harriers FC and Wingerworth JSA. Derbyshire County FA over the last few years has developed the support to Groundsman with regular training / workshops.

These awards provide a great opportunity to recognise and reward Club Groundsmen at Step 7 and below in Derbyshire*.

We also have prizes for the top 3 Derbyshire winners via a partnership with Rigby Taylor LTD. the prizes for this season are:

1st Prize - worth £500
13 x Convert 15-5-15
3 x R11
2 x Superline Extra

2nd Prize -  worth £300
13 x Convert 15-5-15
1 x Superlline Extra

3rd Prize – worth £200
3 x R11 Seed
1 x Superline Extra

If you would like to nominate your Groundsman, the closing date for applications is 5pm on Monday 11th February 2019. You can nominate below.

Derbyshire County FA will then select their top 3 applications to submit to The Football Association. The first-placed Club will then undergo independent judging along with other regions.

For more information about the awards or regarding support for groundsmen, please contact Liam Rooney liam.rooney@derbyshirefa.com

* Clubs at Steps 1-4 and 5-6 will be able to access nomination forms and further information via their leagues.

nominate now!