This set of categories are open to every grassroots club in the country and is free to enter. There will be a youth and adults winner for each category. Entrants simply have to complete the entry form on our platform.
This category is about identifying an activation at a grassroots club which has had a positive impact on everyone at the club, has helped raise investment, engaged with fans, encouraged more players to join and helped retain those that are currently with the club. Judges will be looking at how activation ties in with the club values and aims.
Here the judges will be looking for the UK’s outstanding youth and adults grassroots club. They will be taking into consideration the following factors over the last 12 months:
The jury will be looking to award the coach who has made the most positive impact over the last 12 months. The judges will consider the following factors:
This category is looking to award the person who goes above and beyond to ensure the club they work for continues to succeed. This could be a manager of a youth team who has a brilliant relationship with their players, parents and spends lots of time trying to help and develop their players or the person who marks out the pitch and plants the corner flags every week. The judges will be looking to identify the volunteer who is having a significant impact on how the club runs, but is often unsung when it comes to praise, but is quietly respected throughout the club.
Jurors are looking to celebrate the person who has implemented an innovative initiative that has changed the way the club attract players, coaches and encourages greater inclusivity. It is someone whose work can extend beyond the club they work for, but into the wider women’s football sector. The judges will also be looking for the impact this changemaker has had over the last 12 months.
These categories are open to sports agencies, event agencies, football clubs and other organisations who have been driving the women’s game from behind the scenes. They are free to enter.
This category will be celebrating the best academies at professional clubs. The jury will be looking at the level of coaching, development of the players, pathway into the junior teams, treatment of its players, accessibility and after care for those players who get released.
The jurors will be looking to identify innovative and engaging experiences for fans that have impressed club’s supporter groups and made them feel closer to the players and the club. It could be regular pitch side entertainment before a game, or a food concession transforming hospitality at football. The judges will also be looking at how the fans rate the experience, what it means to them and what makes it so good. This cateogry is open to clubs, organisations, sport, event, experiential, media, pr and comms agencies who helped create these fan experiences.
This category will reward the football club, sport, experiential, pr, media or comms agency, and football organisations who have created the most effective content to promote and amplify a particular message. The content can be in any form and have been distributed on a variety of platforms. The judges will be looking at the impact of the narrative and how to deliver above and beyond its objectives.
This category is looking to reward the most impactful innovation implemented within the game. This could be a new health initiative designed to help understand the women’s body and how it operates at the optimum level during playing to time, or a piece of technology, clothing or other piece of equipment to help protect and improve the performance of the women’s body. The jury will be looking for the impact the innovation has had already and its potential future influence on the game. This cateogry is open to any company or business, which has developed and implemented the above type of initiative.
Here the jury are looking to identify the most impactful use of social media for a football club. The work will demonstrate how it used one of more social platforms to deliver results that could only be achieved by embracing the tools of this platform. Each submission will showcase how the use of social media increased followers for the club, amplified its messaging and drove greater engagement, and met the objectives. This category is open to any business or individual who is reponsible for creating social media for a football club.
This award will focus on the work a football club, sporting organisation, platform, or company is doing with its local community and will include everything from how it made women’s football more accessible and inclusive and the impact it has made on the lives of girls and women in the local community. This category is open to any organisation or company who has been involved in creating such an initiative.
This category is open to all companies who have created a successful experiential activation at a club during a match, or over a longer-term project. Jurors will be looking at how the activation engaged with fans, the key touchpoints it creates, how it drove greater amplification around the club and bigger crowds to interact with the club, and how the brand behind the activation drove an uplift in sales or brand awareness.
The category is open to anyone who actively manages staff within an off the pitch role whether that is finance, marketing, sales or HR. What have they achieved in the last 12 months, what marks them out as a leader, what differences have they made to their teams? What is their staff retention rate? What have they done to actively encourage more girls into the game also inclusivity? This cateogry is open to anyone in a women's football role at any type of company.
The jury here will be tasked with identifying the best ground staff team based on how well they set up the pitch for their team. Judges will look at innovative ways the team ensure the pitch and its facilities are always in use whatever the weather.
Judges will be looking for the kit suppliers who have developed kits for clubs that are unique to women’s football in the way they fit the body, the materials used and the style they employ. It could be a one-off kit or a season long deal, but innovation and uniqueness will play a big role in the judges decisions.
Judges will be looking to award the physio who has managed to understand the biomechanics of each of her/his players and manger to ensure the majority of their clubs’ players are fit and healthy and able to compete at the optimum level for the majority of the season.
This category is open to all football journalists - broadcast and print - to put forward their most groundbreaking story over the course of the season. This could be anything from an interview with a player or manager, or in-depth piece into the state of the game. Judges will be looking at the positive impact the content has had on the women’s game.
Judges will be looking for the sponsorship deal which aligns with the club’s brands and values, while providing key investment into the club. Jurors will take into consideration the length of the deal and the impact it will have on the club during the period of sponsorship. They will also look at how hard it was to get the deal completed.
A jury of commentators, journalists and ex players from the media outlets such as The Athletic, The Guardian, the BBC and the Telegraph will be creating a shortlist and then selecting their winners based on the professional players stats and performances over the season 24/25 season.
The jury will be looking to identify the coach that has helped train and develop their players over the course of the season looking at indicators such as a clear style of play, an understanding of how best to develop their individual players, catering to specific needs and their success on the pitch.
This category will see fans vote via social media on their favourite player of the season based on their performance during the season so far.
Judges will be looking for the best goalkeeper based on several metrics including clean sheets, key saves, ability to start attacks and how she commands her defence. They will be looking at their impact on the success of the team.
The judges will be looking to award a player from another country who has had the biggest impact in the English game over the season. This award will be based on the players stats and their amplification of the women’s game and their impact on the team.
Judges will be looking to award the player who has outperformed all her rivals on the pitch and been a major influence off of it in helping to promote the women’s game.
The idea is to identify the best official over the course of the season. Judges will be looking for consistency in implementing the laws of the game on the pitch, the referee’s ability to get the big calls right and control the game. They will also be looking at the level of respect they receive from players and managers.
This category is open to any professional player under the age 23 who has become key to their team’s success. The jury will also base their decisions on key individual metrics and their impact on the game in the UK.
To help with your submissions we have a guide for all Grassroots and Off the Pitch categories below. Grassroots categories are free to enter and Off the Pitch categories are £325 per entry.
Our dedicated Awards Experts are on hand to offer guidance on any queries you may have.
If you, or someone else you know would make a good juror please complete this form.
