Nominate your ‘Grassroots Respect Hero’ and they could be in with a chance to win tickets to an upcoming England game, courtesy of Nationwide!

Do you know someone who's gone above and beyond to build mutual respect within grassroots football? As a partner of The FA’s Respect Programme, Nationwide want to thank those people for their contributions to making society more tolerant and inclusive.

Each month, they’re giving nominees the chance of winning the Mutual Respect Trophy and two tickets to an upcoming England game. Their panel of judges will decide the winner based on what the nominees have done to promote mutual respect, either on or off the pitch.

Ray Lee, a coach for young players in East London, was the winner in April. He commented: “I coach at Chigwell FC in the Echo League. I see ‘Respect’ as a vital issue in football and I try to support it in everything we do. As a coach, I see the children as ‘people’ not just players.”

“Their development does not lie within the bounds of a one-hour match, or a season, but way beyond in lessons that can help them throughout their lives. When The FA made the decision to remove league points from the Foundation Stage, it enabled the focus of children’s football to be about development.”

“I see the pitch as a classroom, a place where learning should be supported. I try to encourage parents not to shout out instructions to the players. The players have to make their own decisions. Parents would not shout out the answers in a classroom at school.”

“One may ask why Respect is important? I would say, you need to respect both your teammates and opposition.  Without your teammates, you have no team. Without the opposition you have no game.” 

You can nominate your child, their referees, officials, a parent helper or a club by following this link. You can make one nomination per month. Nominations close at 11:59pm on the 21st of each month.