The Hampshire FA Grassroots Football Awards 2021 Sponsored by BSA Regal has gone virtual and will take place at the end of July.

The Hampshire FA Grassroots Football Awards recognise and celebrate the people and organisations that have made outstanding contributions to grassroots football in Hampshire. This year’s awards ceremony is a double-header, celebrating award winners from both the 2019-20 season (awards postponed due to COVID-19) and the 2020-21 season.

Discussing this year’s awards, Hampshire FA CEO, Neil Cassar, said: “This year’s Hampshire FA Grassroots Football Awards Ceremony sponsored by BSA Regal is set to be a unique one. Combining two years’ worth of awards into one and doing this all as a virtual event, we’re having to adapt to overcome challenges posed by COVID-19 that none of us could have predicted at the start of the 2019-20 season. Since then, I have been amazed at how the grassroots football community has rallied to overcome such adversity. These awards are a true testament to the spirit, dedication and hard work of those at the heart of our grassroots community who have kept going throughout. I congratulate all of the award winners below and thank them for their outstanding contributions to the game. Wider thanks also go out to all of the unsung heroes across our communities who continue to offer their invaluable support to the game we all love. Please enjoy this year’s (hopefully one-of-a-kind) virtual awards ceremony!”

Going Virtual

After much deliberation, our awards panel has taken the decision to make this year’s awards ceremony virtual. With COVID-19 still ever-present in society, we believe this is the best decision to keep everyone safe and deliver a spectacular event.

The Hampshire FA Grassroots Football Awards Ceremony 2021 Sponsored by BSA Regal will premiere on YouTube at 7pm, Saturday 31st July 2021.

We’re pleased to announce that TV and Radio presenter, Michael Kurn (@MichaelKurn), will present the awards with plenty of other surprises lined up to make the virtual ceremony a special event.

You can watch the event premiere live at 7PM, 31st July 2021 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAvx3EaUyEQ

The video will also remain on the Hampshire FA YouTube channel indefinitely, to be enjoyed by all from across grassroots football at any time.

Award Winners

Hampshire FA would like to offer a huge congratulations to all of the award winners below for their fantastic contributions to grassroots football in Hampshire.

Find out more about the winners and why they have won their award by watching the virtual awards ceremony on 31st July, or by downloading the event programme (DOWNLOAD THE EVENT PROGRAMME HERE).

Service to Football Awards

A service to football award is made for 25 years’ continuous or aggregated voluntary service to the county and each winner is nominated by their local Divisional Football Association.

2019-20 Recipients:

Barrie Becheley
Colin Williams
Geoff Ruck
Graham Clarke
John Edward Mundy
Patrick Gormley
Richard Becheley
Sandra Becheley
Stephen Norris
Tim Watts

2020-21 Recipients:

Garry Ward
Jim McKell
Martin Baxter

Referees Service to Football Awards

A Hampshire FA Referees Service to Football Award is made to referees and assessors who have been registered and active in the county for 25 years.

2019-20 Recipients:

James Linington
John Brett
John Hopkinson
Raymond Gillam
Roger Knight

2020-21 Recipients:

Brian Hayward
Martin Bloor
Matt Parfect
Matt Sainsbury
Trev Hughes

Certificate of Commendation

A Hampshire FA Certificate of Commendation is awarded to an individual for 10 years’ additional service following the award of a Hampshire FA Service to Football or Referees Service to Football Award.

2019-20 Recipients:

Alan Baynes
Debbie Sowton
Eddie Spraggett
Geoff Bedford
Gordon Hopkins
Graham Brookland
John Foggo
John Marchment
John McBryde
John Tull
Mike Thomas
Murray Knox
Raymond Fleming
Roger Harvey
Roger Smith

2020-21 Recipients:

Dennis Smith
Graham Brown
Hazel Andrews
Jim Pearson
Robert Grist
Rodney McCarthy
Terry Brooke
Tony Hart

The FA 50 Year Awards

The FA 50 Year Award is a highly prestigious award made to those who have given an astonishing 50 years’ service to football.

2019-20 Recipients:

Alan John Miles
Frederick Berntsen
John Sturgess
Melvyn Higgins
Trevor Brock

2020-21 Recipients:

Michael Davis
Stephen Dalton

Hampshire FA Referees Awards

These awards are for individuals who have made outstanding contributions to refereeing across the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

Brian Le Breton – Award for Outstanding Contribution to Refereeing
Calum McFarlane – Award for Most Promising Referee (16-25) for Outstanding Performance & Contribution in Refereeing
Colin Dawkins – Award for Outstanding Contribution to Refereeing from a Volunteer
Matt Russell – Award for a Male Referee for Outstanding Performance & Contribution in Refereeing
Rachel Richards - Award for a Female Referee for Outstanding Performance & Contribution in Refereeing
Thomas Moisey – Award for Outstanding Contribution to Refereeing from a Referee Development Setting

The FA & McDonald’s Grassroots Football Awards Local Winners 2019-20 & 2020-21

The FA and McDonald’s Grassroots Football Awards are for people who make a positive difference. It’s our way to celebrate the fantastic individuals who put their heart and soul into the grassroots game across England – and say a huge thank you to the incredible volunteers who inspire us all.

The following individuals were selected as local winners for Hampshire FA and submitted to the National FA judging panel for consideration for a national FA & McDonald’s Grassroots Football Award.

2019-20 Local Winners:

Chris Brown – Grassroots Coach of the Year for Youth Teams Award
Jason Brook – Grassroots Coach of the Year for Adult Teams Award
Paul M Scoble – Grassroots Match Official of the Year Award
Andy Harvey – Grassroots Volunteer of the Year Award
Sands United FC Solent – Grassroots Club of the Year Award
Hampshire Girls Youth Football League – Grassroots League of the Year Award
BTC Southampton FC – Grassroots Grounds Team of the Year Award
Rhiannon Stevens – Rising Star of the Year Award
Christian Thomas – We Only Do Positive Respect Award

2020-21 Local Winners:

Aaron Rattan – Grassroots Coach of the Year for Youth Teams Award
Tara Dugdale – Grassroots Coach of the Year for Adult Teams Award
Rhiannon Stevens – Grassroots Match Official of the Year Award
Mike Ashley – Grassroots Volunteer of the Year Award
Tadley Statin Strollers Walking Football Club – Grassroots Club of the Year Award
Testway Youth Football League – Grassroots League of the Year Award
Steve Berry – Grassroots Grounds Team of the Year Award
Caitlin Morris – Rising Star of the Year Award
Southampton RTC – Grassroots Project of the Year Award
Hawley Football Club – The Spirit of Grassroots Football Award

Hampshire FA Special Recognition Awards

These awards are for individuals and organisations who have gone above and beyond to support grassroots football and their community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic (2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons).

Andy Deakin
Brian Le Breton
Cledwyn Davies
Eastleigh & District Mini Soccer League
Yateley United Football Club

Hampshire FA Community Trust Special Award

This award is to recognise an individual, club, league or organisation that has gone above and beyond to improve one of the following three pillars of the community trust in Hampshire throughout the COVID-19 pandemic (2019/20 & 2020/21 seasons):

• Disability Football
• Equality & Inclusion
• Community Coaching

David Parsons

Hampshire FA Special Awards

These awards are to recognise outstanding achievements and contributions within grassroots football for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

Bournemouth Divisional Football Association & Bournemouth Football League – for their Centenary in 2020
Brading Town FC – for their 150th Anniversary
Solent University – for outstanding media support of the Hampshire FA Men’s and Women’s Senior Cup Finals in 2020/21
Toynbee School – for being joint winners of the English Schools FA National Cup (Year 7) in 2019/20
United Services Portsmouth FC – for reaching the FA Vase Semi Finals in 2020/21

Organisations Supporting This Event

Hampshire FA would like to extend our thanks to the following organisations for their support in producing this virtual awards ceremony.

Commercial Partners:

The following organisations are commercial partners of Hampshire FA. Find out more about our commercial partners supporting grassroots football in Hampshire HERE.

BSA Regal – Sponsors of the Hampshire FA Grassroots Football Awards
Topodium Group – Official Printing Partner (certificates and marketing materials)
TICKBOX – Official Promotional Goods Supplier (merchandise)

Other Supporting Organisations:

Solent University – Filming of the Virtual Awards Ceremony
Graham Scambler Photography – Imagery used in the Virtual Awards Ceremony
Leanne Goodall – Videography used in the Virtual Awards Ceremony