Football Workforce Award by Tina Stringer

A few weeks ago I received a phone call from the FA telling me that I had won a regional and national Football Workforce Award.

It came completely out of the blue as I was unaware I had even been nominated!

I felt very proud when I found out that I had won, but that soon turned to shock when I realised I would receive my award at the Community Shield final at Wembley in front of 80,000 people – not to mention the millions watching at home.

I had an absolutely fantastic day meeting football legends including Sir Geoff Hurst, Sir Trevor Brooking and Ian Rush, and stepping onto the most famous football pitch in the world. It was quite surreal, particularly when they announced my name over the loud speakers.

It was a great feeling to be recognised for the work I have put in over the last four years as voluntary secretary of the Sheffield and Hallamshire Girl’s County League. To collect the award at the home of football made it extra special. It is a day I will never forget and I can now say my feet have graced the hallowed turf of Wembley – sort of!

Tina Stringer

On the ball

As a football fan, when there was talk of establishing a Westfield five-a-side team, I naturally put myself forward to join.

 

Manchester United or Chelsea we certainly aren’t, however we are a group of eight colleagues who all enjoy playing football and socialising together. The team is made up of guys from all different departments at Westfield and has given us the chance to get to know people from across the organisation, which has been great.

 

A couple of weeks ago we competed in the UK Corporate Games five-a-side competition in Leeds. Last year, when the Games were held here in Sheffield, we finished second and went on to represent the UK at the World Corporate Games in Bilbao, which was a fantastic experience for us.

 

In this year’s competition we came second in the group stages and finished the tournament as quarter-finalists. Maybe next year ….

 

We are continuing to play on a regular basis and currently compete in the corporate league at Goals every Monday. We won’t be making it as professionals but we might just beat five-time champions DfES next week!