Last night, we hosted our annual Kent FA Workforce Awards 2023, sponsored by Bellway, to recognise and celebrate our grassroots heroes across the county.

These awards celebrate those people who make a positive difference in our football community, and this is our way of thanking the fantastic individuals who put their heart and soul into the grassroots game across Kent.

The local football community responded in droves to our call to nominate their grassroots heroes, with over 270 nominations received across the thirteen award categories. We want to thank every single person who took the time to make a nomination.

All the nominations were reviewed and scored based on FA criteria. The top nominations from each category were then shared with an independent judging panel that selected the winners across thirteen categories. With so many incredible nominations, the judging panel also awarded several highly commended awards where they felt the nominee only just missed on winning the category and deserved recognition for their tremendous commitment to grassroots football.

Bellway the Event Partner for the awards ceremony this year, and Mark Harrop, Sales Director at Bellway Kent, comments: “As well as delivering much-needed new homes across Kent, we are committed to supporting local communities and grassroots organisations within the county.

“The Kent FA’s Grassroots Workforce Awards shine the spotlight on some of the unsung heroes of our local communities and it was great to see their efforts get the recognition they deserve. We are proud to be sponsors of this year’s event and look forward to continuing our relationship with the Kent FA in the future.”

Thank you to our good friend, Charlotte Richardson, for comparing this inspirational evening with 120 guests in attendance, and we were thrilled and honoured that most of the shortlisted nominees could join us.

The winners of this year's awards are as follows:

The FA Awards

• Coach of the Year (Female Player Pathway) – Josh Harrowell, Headcorn FC
• Coach of the Year (Male Player Pathway) – Paul Francis, Anchorians FC (Highly Commended– Mark Faulkner, Yalding & Laddingford FC)
• Coach of the Year (Disability Player Pathway) – Scott Mann, Kings Hill
• Club of the Year – Kings Hill FC
• Grounds Team of the Year – Kevin Stevens, Bearsted FC
• League of the Year – Kent Girls & Ladies Football League (Highly Commended: East Kent Youth Football League)
• Match Official of the Year – Phil Matthews (Highly Commended – Chris Bright)
• Young Volunteer of the Year – Archie Suter (Highly Commended – Luci Levett and Ruan Liscoe)
• New Volunteer of the Year – Lesley Stevens, Bearsted FC
• Positive Football Environment Award – Ryan Abrahall

Kent FA Awards

• Colin Boswell Young Referee Of The Year – Jack Smith
• Digital Club Of The Year, Sponsored by Sleeping Giant Media – Rising Stars FC
• Welfare Hero Of The Year – Beverley Latham

Dedicated Service Awards

• Kent County Football League
• Barrie Ivens, Castle Colts FC

Kent FA CEO Darryl Haden said: "Last night was an incredible evening. Congratulations to all our fantastic award winners and everyone who received a nomination this year. We would also like to say a special thank you to our Event Partner, Bellway, for their incredible support of these awards. Lastly, thank you to everyone who made a nomination this year. Without you, we wouldn't have a platform to celebrate all the incredible achievements of our local grassroots volunteers."

All the photographs taken on the night will be made available on our Facebook page in the next week.