Most Sunday mornings in English football belong to the players. This Sunday belongs to everyone else. The volunteers. The groundskeepers. The referees. The club committee members who keep adult grassroots football running, week after week.
What’s Happening This Weekend
England Football’s Grassroots Football Awards, presented by Howdens, holds its 2026 ceremony on Sunday 16 August. Nominations closed weeks ago. Winners get revealed on the day, alongside guests from across the football world.
The idea behind the awards is simple. Grassroots football runs almost entirely on unpaid effort. That effort rarely gets celebrated. This is the one day a year that changes.
The Categories That Matter to Adult Grassroots Football
Some award categories focus on youth football. But several sit squarely in the adult amateur game — the part of grassroots football most Sunday league players and volunteers experience every week:
- Club of the Year — for a club’s overall contribution to its community, not just results
- League of the Year — for a league that’s gone beyond simply organising fixtures
- Match Official of the Year — a nod to referees who take charge of amateur matches, often with little thanks and plenty of criticism
- Grounds Team of the Year — for volunteers who keep pitches playable through a UK winter, usually unseen and rarely credited
- Positive Behaviour Award — for someone who’s actively improved the culture on and around the pitch
- New Volunteer of the Year and Young Volunteer of the Year — for people stepping into grassroots roles for the first time
Last Year’s Winners Show What Actually Gets Recognised
Looking back at the 2025 winners is a good way to understand what these awards reward. Leicester Nirvana FC took Club of the Year. The Birmingham County Women’s Walking Football League won League of the Year — proof that grassroots football now stretches well beyond traditional 11-a-side Sunday league. Sean Wright won Match Official of the Year. Richard Hill was named Grounds Team of the Year for keeping pitches match-ready.
Darren Richards won New Volunteer of the Year. Matt Meadus took the Positive Behaviour Award. Both wins show the FA is trying to spotlight culture, not just performance or results.
Why This Ceremony Is Worth Watching
Adult grassroots football depends on people who show up without being asked twice. The club secretary answering messages at 11 pm. The volunteer marking pitch lines before sunrise. The referee taking abuse from the touchline for £25 a match. None of that shows up in a league table.
This weekend’s ceremony puts that work in the spotlight, if only for one day. Whether or not your own club is in the running this year, it’s worth watching who wins. And if there’s a volunteer at your club who deserves recognition, it’s worth nominating them next season.