Derbyshire County Football Association [DCFA] has been successfully shortlisted for the Coach Development at the 2023 County FA Recognition Awards for its Coaches Community project.

The Awards, which will be announced at Wembley Stadium connected by EE on Thursday 23 November 2023, recognise and endorse the best projects, products and services delivered by County FAs over the past season while sharing best practice and learnings from around the country.

A record breaking 242 submissions have been entered from the 50 County FAs operating across England, highlighting continuous improvements and showcasing how they are innovating to improve grassroots football and increase participation across all levels of the game.

The twelve categories which will be recognised at the awards were:

• Brand Engagement
• Coach Development
• Employee Wellbeing & Engagement
• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
• Facility Development
• Football Development
• Partnership
• Positive Football Environment
• Referee Development
• Special recognition
• Women & Girls
• Youth Engagement

Derbyshire FA has made the final shortlist for the Coach Development Award for their launch of the Coaches Community, which has seen coaches across the county gain access to affordable, informative and engaging education and support.

Football Development Officer at Derbyshire FA and lead of the Coaches Community, Alexander Walker said:

"It's been tremendous to see how far the Derbyshire FA Coaches Community has come, and it's fantastic to see it garner the recognition it deserves. There are so many fantastic coaches in our county that continue to push and develop themselves, and the Coaches Community is a great place for them to do so with it's enlightening and instructive CPD sessions and events."

The FA’s Head of Operations for Grassroots Football, Tim Foster added:

“I’d like to congratulate Derbyshire FA in making the final shortlist for the Coach Development Award and all of the other shortlisted County FAs in what has been a record-breaking number of submissions this year.

It has been fantastic to see such a strong selection of programmes and projects entered across the twelve categories, and we look forward to hosting our County FAs at Wembley Stadium in November to thank them for all they do in serving our national game.”

For more information on the work of County FAs, visit: https://www.englandfootball.com/explore/county-football-associations