15 local Essex football teams have been commended for their “sportsmanship and attitude towards how the game should be played” following the announcement of the 2017/18 Essex County FA Fair Play winners.

We recently called for honesty, integrity and respect to be recognised with nominations from the grassroots football community. Anyone was able to nominate a side they felt had displayed consistent high levels of conduct and competed in the true spirit of the game.

Submissions were received and assessed by a specialist panel and winners were identified in several categories. The County FA were looking for evidence of outstanding sportsmanship and fair play in as much detail as possible, and the winners were:

Open-Age Male

1st: Danbury & Bicknacre (Pope & Smith Chelmsford Sunday League)
2nd: Railway Academicals Reserve Team (Saturday) (Southend Borough & District Football Combination)
3rd: Dunmow Rhodes (Braintree & North Essex Sunday League)

Open-Age Female

1st: Beacon Hill Rovers (Essex County Women’s League)
2nd: Alresford Colne Rangers (Essex County Women’s League)

Disability

1st: Basildon Soccability (Essex Soccability League)

Youth Boys (Competitive)

1st: Basildon Boys Club Under 15s (Leopards) (Southend & District Junior League)
2nd: FC Clacton Under 12s (Blues) (Colchester & District Youth League)

Youth Boys (Non-Competitive)

1st: Wivenhoe Tempest Under 11s (Reds) (Colchester & District Youth League)

Youth Girls (Competitive)

1st: Leigh Ramblers Under 15s (Essex County Girls’ League)
2nd: Hutton Under 18s (Essex County Girls’ League)
3rd: C & K Basildon Under 15s (Essex County Girls’ League)

Youth Girls (Non-Competitive)

1st: Frinton & Walton Under 11s (Hurricanes) (Essex County Girls’ League)
2nd: Leigh Ramblers Under 10s (Essex County Girls’ League)
3rd: Springfield Under 10s (Essex County Girls’ League)

Essex County FA Welfare Officer, Helen Hever, reacted: “We would like to express our thanks for the support shown in nominating teams for this award. This was a wonderful opportunity to recognise teams who embrace fair play.”

“These clubs make the football experience more enjoyable, not only for their team but for their opponents. Football is, of course, a competitive game, so having an award for fair play gives us a chance to reward those who are nominated for their sportsmanship and attitude towards how the game should be played.”

To find out more about fair play in grassroots Essex football browse the menus above, follow @EssexCountyFA on Twitter and search for ‘EssexFootball’ on Facebook.