Chalfont Saints FC has been awarded "Club of the Year" and Saints coach, Emily McCarthy, has been awarded Coach of the Year (Disability pathway) at the prestigious 2024 Berks and Bucks FA Grassroots Football Awards.

In addition, Coach Kate Dunkley was highly commended in the Coach of the Year (Female pathway) category, and Mike Saunders, long-standing Club Secretary was highly commended in the ‘Bobby Moore' Award – an ‘extra special award for those who have gone above and beyond in their volunteer work for football in their area’.

Success at these awards are fundamentally down to the tireless work behind the scenes of huge number of individuals who volunteer their time for the club, as well as the exceptional contribution by the named individuals themselves.

(Image: Berks and Bucks)

As well as supporting physical development through sport, it is clear that the members have been able to develop team-building skills, leadership and confidence through football.

Parents and coaches observe this through improvements in on-pitch play, communication and development across the teams, and numerous positive comments have been made back to coaches.

Club Chairman, Allen Davies, said: ”I’m tremendously proud of the recognition for the club, and for Emily, Kate and Mike from these prestigious awards. Chalfont Saints has a strong ethos of inclusion, fun and development of our members through playing football, and these awards demonstrate that.”

The Grassroots Football Awards are run by regional FAs every year as a way of recognising the contribution of volunteers across their respective counties for the work they do in developing the national game, encouraging participation by all, and fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for players of all levels.

The winners at the Berks and Bucks event were selected from over 1,000 nominations by the 600 or so grassroots clubs in the region.

Chalfont Saints FC has been a thriving community grassroots football club since 1988, based at the Epilepsy Society pitches in Chalfont St Peter. The club has grown to now have about 350 members across 25 teams, with boys u7-u18, boys u12 and u15 Junior Premier League teams, girls teams from u9-u15, a Sunday League men’s team and a well-established inclusive group of more than 60 children and young adults who have a variety of needs and disabilities.

The club also encourages development of volunteer coaches, principally from parents, and the development of its own group of referees – with everyone able to be financially supported by the club in relevant qualifications. The club is always looking for new players and is open to sponsors and supporters for the next season