Which club offers you your best away day experience?
OUR prestigious National Game Awards are bigger than ever this year and we couldn’t wait to reveal one of the new prizes up for grabs this summer!
One of the best things about football, and particularly Non-League, is the many great grounds and welcoming clubs available to visit when following your team around the country.
To recognise this important part of the game, we’re introducing the Non-League Away Day Experience of the Year Award to this year’s ceremony on May 16 at Stamford Bridge.
Our friends at the Football Supporters Federation are kindly supporting the fantastic new award, and here’s what we’re looking for in the winner!
Atmosphere
The award will recognise those clubs who go the extra mile in making away fans welcome in the top four levels of the Non-League game.
Travelling supporters are vital to the atmosphere at matches, the additional revenue they bring improves the financial viability of clubs. A noisy and colourful away following will often spark home supporters into generating the kind of atmosphere that makes even a mediocre game more of an event.
A bigger crowd will also attract additional revenue from sponsors, who want to be associated with the spectacle of the match and celebration of our game.
Sometimes the result even pales into insignificance if the experience has been enjoyable! Have you ever had an away day like this? We need your help to find a very worthy winner.
Facilities and resources vary, so we are inviting nominations at each of Steps 1 to 4 of the National League System to recognise the superb work clubs do across Non-League.
Warmth
A judging panel will decide the winning club at each level with those clubs receiving an award from the FSF and The Non-League Paper. Those clubs will then be carefully considered for the new Non-League Away Day Experience of the Year Award at our National Game Awards.
Nominations should be sent to ngaawayday@fsf.org.uk with your reasons why a particular club should be considered, this might include: quality of accommodation for away fans, food and drinks offer, ticket pricing, attitude and behaviour of stewards and home supporters.
The awards will acknowledge best practice and encourage all clubs to look at how the match day experience for away fans can be improved.
Get your votes in now!