Wiltshire Football Association [FA] has been successfully shortlisted for the Partnership Award at the 2022 County FA Recognition Awards for its Shoot Shout Share partnership with Strakers Estate Agents.

The Awards, which will be announced at Wembley Stadium connected by EE on Thursday 15 September 2022, recognise and endorse the best projects, products and services delivered by County FAs over the past two seasons while sharing best practice and learnings from around the country.

A record breaking 235 submissions have been entered from the 50 County FAs operating across England, highlighting continuous improvements and showcasing how they are innovating to improve grassroots football and increase participation across all levels of the game.

The eleven categories which will be recognised at the awards were:

• Brand Engagement
• Coach Development
• Digital Engagement
• Employee Engagement
• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
• Football Development
• Insight & Data
• Partnership
• Special recognition
• Women & Girls
• Youth Engagement

Wiltshire FA has made the final shortlist for the Partnership Award for an innovative solution to financially boost their safeguarding work by partnering with local estate agent, Strakers. The partnership allows Wiltshire FA to strengthen and deepen the reach of safeguarding messages with the development of a campaign, mascot and strategy to make sure every child knows who they can talk to.

Oliver Selfe, Wiltshire FA CEO said: "We are delighted to have been shortlisted for the County FA Recognition Partnership Award. It is great recognition for the work we are doing to engage strategic partners to support the game in Wiltshire.

“And with our new mascot, Ron, and our new partner, Strakers, we are looking forward to developing our Safeguarding messages.

“We have recently launched our Youth Communications Strategy, a long-term plan which outlines our aims to generate relevant communications to raise awareness and drive engagement, empowering individuals to speak up and stay safe with wider plans to promote wellbeing, making sure young people know who they can talk to, where they can get support and how to take care of their mental health.

“Using our hashtag #ShootShoutShare, our safeguarding campaign encourages people to believe in themselves, to speak up and stay safe and to be confident because their voice matters, with additional messages to promote positivity and wellbeing.”

The FA’s Head of Operations for Grassroots Football, Tim Foster added:

“I’d like to congratulate Wiltshire FA in making the final shortlist for the Partnership Award and all of the other County FAs for their excellent submissions which are testament to their dedication and achievements over the past two seasons.

“The long-standing partnership between the FA and County FAs is a crucial part of our long-term strategy for grassroots football. The partnership is committed to serving those that participate and are involved in the game, and providing the leadership needed to ensure future generations continue to enjoy and benefit from our national game.

“We look forward to recognising and rewarding our County FAs at Wembley Stadium in September and thanking each and every one of them for the vital work they deliver across their local communities.”

For more information on the work of County FAs, visit: https://www.englandfootball.com/explore/county-football-associations