Nottinghamshire Football Association [FA] has been successfully shortlisted for the Coach Development and the Employee Engagement award at the 2022 County FA Recognition Awards for its Female Coach Development Group and Staff Wellbeing Group.

The Awards, which will be announced at Wembley Stadium connected by EE on Thursday 15 September 2022, recognise and endorse the best projects, products and services delivered by County FAs over the past two seasons while sharing best practice and learnings from around the country.

A record breaking 235 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 eleven categories which will be recognised at the awards were:

Brand Engagement
Coach Development
Digital Engagement
Employee Engagement
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Football Development
Insight & Data
Partnership
Special recognition
Women & Girls
Youth Engagement

Nottinghamshire FA has made the final shortlist for the Coach Development award for establishing a Female Coach Development lead by Nottinghamshire Football Association’s Michelle Marshall, Regional FA W&G Development Officer; Samantha Griffiths, W&G Mentor; Stewart Rowley, W&G County Champion; Natasha Buckland and Derbyshire FDO Adam Wing.

The Female Coach Development Group was established this season off the back of identifying that we have a small number of females volunteers in the game that do not necessarily have a football background but have come into the game as a result of their child being part of team.

We recognised that these female coaches being new into the game would benefit from having a safe space to feel supported, motivated, and confident in being able to coach in the game with their youth teams. As a result of this, the Female Coach Development Group was developed as a cross county programme with Derbyshire and the huge support of the FA Regional W&G officer, Mentor and County Champion.

Nottinghamshire FA has made the final shortlist for the Employee Engagement award for establishing, developing and sustaining a Staff wellbeing group. Lead by Nottinghamshire Football Association’s Sara Dickinson and supported by a number of other staff the Wellbeing Group was about the staff and for the staff and their opportunity to input into business decisions that would impact their working environment. This has lead to a wide range of CPD, social and support opportunities with a direct link back in to our Board of Directors and a much better working environment for all.

The Nottinghamshire FA’s Chief Executive Officer, Elaine Oram said:
“We have an excellent team at Nottinghamshire FA and on behalf of myself and the Board of Directors I am extremely proud of the work that the staff put in every day. To be
recognised for two awards in year one of our Business Strategy is a fantastic achievement.”
“To be shortlisted for the Coach Development Award highlights our ability to identify an area that requires further support and drive to develop a programme linking a range of
partners to help support our football workforce. To be shortlisted for the Employee Engagement award is a wonderful reward for the Nottinghamshire Football Association as
the wellbeing and engagement of all our staff is at the forefront of everything that we do and it is nice to be acknowledged and noticed for the fact we go above and beyond.”
“We are very proud to have been nominated for these awards and well done to all the staff for the work they have done. We are excited to continue to push and strive for further
success to support our football community.”

The FA’s Head of Operations for Grassroots Football, Tim Foster added:
“I’d like to congratulate Nottinghamshire Football Association in making the final shortlist for the Coach Development and Employee Engagement awards and all of the other County FAs for their excellent submissions which are testament to their dedication and
achievements over the past two seasons.
“The long-standing partnership between the FA and County FAs is a crucial part of our long-term strategy for grassroots football. The partnership is committed to serving those that participate and are involved in the game, and providing the leadership needed to ensure future generations continue to enjoy and benefit from our national game.
“We look forward to recognising and rewarding our County FAs at Wembley Stadium in September and thanking each and every one of them for the vital work they deliver across their local communities.”

For more information on the work of County FAs, visit:
https://www.englandfootball.com/explore/county-football-associations