Paul Wade of Orpington FC was selected by a national panel as the Grounds Team of the Year at the FA and McDonalds Grassroots Football Awards, beating 50 other shortlisted nominees from across the country.

Wade has volunteered at Orpington FC for over 15 years and has fulfilled several roles at the club, including club secretary and welfare officer. As groundsman, he dedicates 8-15 hours a week to single-handedly maintain 16 pitches for over 450 players.

The FA & McDonald’s national panel paid homage to his intuitive knowledge of the park and its drainage systems, the relationships he has built with park users and the local borough council and his ability to make tough decisions when it comes to calling games off.

Richard Kettle, Chairperson at Orpington FC, said: “Orpington Football Club are extremely proud of our groundsman Paul for winning this award. Paul has been a wonderful servant of the club for nearly two decades and is the lifeblood of the club and the community we serve. We couldn’t offer football to the amount of people we do without Paul, so it really is wonderful to see all his hard work rewarded. We would like to once again thank Paul for everything he does for the club”

Darryl Haden, CEO of Kent FA, added: “The team at Kent FA would like to offer our congratulations to Paul Wade and Orpington FC. Grassroots football would not exist without the commitment and dedication of volunteers like Paul and we are pleased that he has been recognised for his service to the grassroots game at Orpington FC”