Hampshire FA would like to congratulate all winners who were presented with an award at the Hampshire FA Grassroots Football Awards which took place on Saturday 2nd June 2018 at Southampton FC and is sponsored by the Saints Foundation.

Hampshire FA’s sixth annual Hampshire FA Grassroots Football Awards sponsored by the Saints Foundation  was held at Southampton FC on Saturday 2nd June 2018 and was powered by AN4 Group. Having the best due in the business, the awards event was opened up by none other than Neil Hawkins (Compere) and Michael Kurn (Presenter) who guided the event, keeping to times and ensuring there was lots of laughter to be had which made it an overall throughly enjoyable event. 

The Hampshire FA Grassroots Football Awards Ceremony aims to recognise volunteers within the county, the very lifeblood at the heart of our game for their commitment, dedication and efforts in ensuring the development, sustainability and progression of our beautiful game. The ceremony unites all award winners and is a showcase of the talented workforce who dedicate so much of their own time for others to enjoy the beautiful game. This year, Hampshire FA announced the winners for 16 different award categories in front of an audience of 300+ people.

The awards evening opened up with a live performance from Sam Carelse, accompanied by the Tim Wells trio in playing 30's and 40's swing music, performing a variety of music pieces as guests entered the venue from 6pm adding an air of elegance to the awards ceremony which was met with positive feedback. Additionally, The FA Cup, Women's FA Cup and The FA Community Shield all made an appearance on the evening for guests and award winners to have their photo taken with the prestigious trophies.

As guests took their seat on the evening, Hampshire FA’s sponsors of the grassroots football awards ceremony the Saints Foundation were introduced and Greg Baker, Head of the Saints foundation took to the stage to make a surprise announcement that each award winner would receive a pair of Southampton FC tickets for next season that gathered a roaring applause and a few gasps around the room. Additionally, the sponsors showed a short clip on the work that they do for the benefit of the local community together with statistics of their own. 

The Hampshire FA Grassroots Video was then showcased to a silent crowd who looked upon the impressive statistics achieved by the very people both in the room and external, combined with a dedicated workforce of volunteers and staff. All associate members both staff and volunteers were congratulated with a closing message as showcased on the video itself – that through their contributions and dedications to the grassroots game, we have united and made all of this possible.

The Hampshire FA Grassroots Football Awards this year boasted a whopping 16 award categories with presentations and announcements made to 78 award winners (mixture of both teams and deserving individuals). 

A full list of the award winners and their biographies can be found in the Grassroots Football Awards booklet below. 

Additionally, Hampshire FA would like to thank the following commercial partners and organisations who provided prizes for the Hampshire FA Community Trust raffle, raising over 600.00 for the Trust, including:

Saints Foundation - Signed football and pennant

The Akash Restaurant - Meal voucher for 2 worth £30.00

A&A Business Supplies - Printer

Mayflower Theatre - Pair of Shrek the Musical tickets

Pompey in the Community - Pair of Portsmouth FC tickets

Sprinkles - £10.00

DoubleTree by Hilton Southampton - Afternoon tea for 2

Airlynx Express Ltd - 1 way VIP travel for 2 from Southampton to Gatwick or Heathrow (not on bank holidays)

Jennifer Jones Personal Styling - Half day personal shopping experience

Phoenix Sporting Goods - A rebounder and set of skills goals

Flipout Southampton - 3x family of 4 vouchers to Flipout

Unity 101 Radio - A full day community radio experience 

Ex Saints - Signed Southampton FC football by Ex-Saints legends

The event was successfully concluded by Football Poet Rob Casey who performed a few works of his own including a dedicated poem to grassroots football - a very apt touch and finish to a splendid evening.