West Riding FA is extremely proud to have landed the Facility Development Award at the 2023 County FA Recognition Awards for its Grass Pitch Improvements project!

The Awards, which were hosted at Wembley Stadium hosted by EE, 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 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

West Riding FA won the Facility Development Award for the work that has been done on addressing the issue of poor-quality grass pitches across the County. Upskilling the Groundskeeper workforce, identifying key sites to improve, supporting the clubs and organisations with application support and driving change at Local Authority level were all key aspects of the project.

Our Chief Executive, Hannah Simpson, said: "I am proud to have our work recognised nationally at the FA County FA Recognition Awards. Our collective efforts, dedication, and commitment have been recognised and celebrated on a national level!"

The FA’s Head of Operations for Grassroots Football, Tim Foster added: "It has been brilliant to celebrate the tremendous work that takes place across all of our County FAs.

The projects submitted into this year’s County FA Recognition Awards are a testament to the hard work and dedication across our County FA network which works tirelessly to deliver grassroots football to the communities in which they serve.

My congratulations go to all of the winners, and to everyone involved in delivering new and innovative projects to grow and enhance the grassroots game".