We are delighted to announce that Crawley & Maidenbower Panthers has won the Club of the Year Award as part of England Football’s Grassroots Football Awards.

This Award looks to highlight a club that sits at the heart of its community providing an opportunity for all to get involved.

The club has around 400 playing members, ranging in age from four to 44. The large majority of its 25 teams are youth age, as youth is clearly the focus of the club. Nevertheless, in the last few years an adult section has been developed, which provides a complete player pathway for those who wish to carry on into open age football.

More than one hundred of the players are girls, mostly playing in dedicated girls’ teams. The club has made a concerted effort to encourage female participation in the sport since 2019, growing its girls’ section from just two players at that time.

There is a volunteer force of around 80 people involved in running the club, most of whom are FA-qualified coaches, along with a well-established management committee of 14 people, who oversee all the day-to-day running of the club on behalf of its membership.

Panthers’ commitment to inclusivity and diversity starts with the playing membership, by welcoming and encouraging players of all abilities, massively promoting the game towards girls, while ensuring that the broad ethnic diversity of the Crawley community is appropriately represented.

But it doesn’t stop there, as the club’s Management Committee has a 50:50 gender split and the club has female and male co-chairs, who run the organisation as a true collaborative partnership.

To find out more about the England Football Grassroots Awards please contact: