Lincolnshire FA has landed the Brand Recognition award at the 2024 County FA Recognition Awards, for the 'We Are The One' podcast. 

Lincolnshire FA also received Highly Commended, 2nd place, in the Partnership category for the 'Veo Goal of the Month' initiative. 

The Awards, which were hosted at Wembley Stadium connected by EE, recognise and endorse the best projects, products and services delivered by County FAs over the past season while sharing best practice and learnings from around the country.

Over 220 submissions were entered from across the County FA network 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 twelve categories recognised at the awards were:

• Brand Engagement
• Coach Development
• Employee Wellbeing & Engagement
• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
• Facility Development
• Football Development
• Partnership
• Positive Football Environment
• Referee Development
• Special recognition
• Women & Girls
• Youth Engagement

Lincolnshire FA was handed the Brand Engagement award for the We Are The One podcast - launched to shine a light on the fantastic and inspiring work of volunteers in our footballing communities. 

As part of a new strategy objective, and a new area of focus for Lincolnshire FA, we wanted to engage with our volunteers and find new ways to recognise and reward them for their efforts, while giving them the opportunity to share best practice and insight for others to learn from. We also wanted to build on the Engage Lincolnshire project in 2022/23, and find new ways to communicate with our stakeholders and help them engage with our brand whilst continuing to build a positive reputation so that they see us in the best possible light – and help them understand all the things we do as an organisation.

As part of our strategy consultation survey, we asked about how volunteers feel, and what they need from us as a County FA to make their efforts more worthwhile. Many came back and responded with comments like “We need more support and appreciation”, “show us some love”, and “give us more insight into the role and provide support at the earliest opportunity”. They also highlighted a need for more face-to-face support and recognition, and 50% of the respondents also stated they only sometimes feel supported by Lincolnshire FA, with another 28% stating they didn’t at all.

A need for something that better recognises the efforts of volunteers was seemingly crucial.
 
With this new foundation of information and understanding about what our volunteers wanted and what our stakeholders wanted, we set about creating the podcast ready for a January launch. We completed some background research on already successful podcasts, as well as ones that other County FA’s were already delivering. We knew what we wanted to deliver and the tone we wanted, and decided that the success of Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO was something that could be replicated in grassroots football in our area – outlined by the desire to hear people’s stories in our survey. 

We have seen immense and immediate success since the launch of the We Are The One podcast, entitled this based on our strategy line ‘One Lincolnshire Community: United And Inspired By The Power Of Football’. 

We’ve now published 9 episodes to date, featuring volunteers from all manner of roles. In total, the podcast has had 1,140 streams, averaging 127 streams per episode. Through promotion on social media using clips and quotes taken from each episode by our volunteer, Katie, we’ve seen a total of 82,549 impressions and 13,215 engagements. On TikTok, a platform we’d highlighted as being key to promotion of the podcast, we’ve so far had 12,300 views and 313 engagements on podcast related clips. 

The podcast has exceeded expectations and targets set prior to its launch, as we hoped for an average of 100 streams per episode. But more importantly, it’s given our amazing and inspiring volunteers the platform to share their stories and have a moment in the spotlight where for half an hour, they could tell everyone why they do what they do and the things they’re proud of. 

The Veo Goal of the Month initiative also picked up the Highly Commended award in the Partnership category. 

We created the Veo Goal of the Month award with one main objective in mind – to engage with and capture the interests of our least engaged with audience – our players. Generally, and traditionally, our players only ever thought of us as being in place to fine them all for dissent or poor behaviour and didn’t see us in a positive light. 

We wanted to see as many clips of outstanding goals submitted to us on a monthly basis as possible, and to fill social media feeds with goals from Lincolnshire FA affiliated clubs – whether that be through our own channels or the channels of our member clubs and stakeholders. The support of the newly established Media Volunteer Support Group was key in this by promoting the campaign and submitting applications.  

Veo joined as a Silver Partner of Lincolnshire FA in January this year, and as part of that partnership, we agreed to list them as naming rights to the competition to promote them and the discounts they had on offer. Afterall, many submissions would be filmed on Veo cameras!

The campaign has seen incredible success, both for the County FA and for Veo. Having launched in February, we now have 4 winners who have all won the monthly prize.
Across social media, the videos of goals submitted along with promotion of the initiative gained 129,259 impressions and 53,344 engagements. The articles on the website had 830 views, with the YouTube videos of shortlists and winners gaining 2,191 views. On TikTok, videos hit 7,530 views with 352 engagements – capturing the 13-18 year old age range. What really impressed us however, was the number of submissions and votes. 

We had 90 goals sent in over the course of 4 months from teams across the County, both Youth and Open Age and across the Male, Female, and Disability pathways. Across the 4 monthly public ballots, where we shortlisted 5 or 6 submissions in each monthly award, we had a total of 2,772 votes. What’s more, we gained 162 marketing opt-ins during the voting periods – all of which we could promote directly the discount and offers that Veo offer, as well as other partners of LFA.

The initiative has also seen huge success for Veo, gaining 52 enquiries of purchasing new Veo 3 cameras which has resulted in 4 being purchased by clubs in Lincolnshire. At over £1,000 per camera, Veo have seen an instant return on investment within 4 months of launching the 2-year partnership. 

Zack Leader, Media, Marketing & Events Officer at Lincolnshire FA, said: “We’re incredibly honored to receive the Brand Engagement award for our We Are The One podcast at the County FA Recognition Awards this year. This project has been a meaningful way for us to spotlight the inspiring stories and dedication of our volunteers, who are the backbone of grassroots football in Lincolnshire. Being recognised for this work reflects not only our commitment to strengthening community connections but also our belief in the power of storytelling to uplift and unify our football family.

We’re also proud to see the Veo Goal of the Month initiative achieve Highly Commended status in the Partnership category. This recognition speaks volumes about how, together with our partners and participants, we’ve fostered new ways to engage our players and highlight their talent across the county. It’s fantastic to see these initiatives making such a positive impact and helping us connect meaningfully with our community.”

Nick Hanson, CEO of Lincolnshire FA, said: “Our aim at Lincolnshire FA is to foster connection and recognition within our grassroots football community, and we’re incredibly proud to have this work celebrated nationally. The 'We Are The One' podcast and the 'Veo Goal of the Month' initiatives exemplify our commitment to showcasing and supporting our volunteers, players, and everyone driving grassroots football forward. Being recognised at the County FA Recognition Awards is a testament to the shared passion and dedication of our entire community." 

Tim Foster, Head of Operations for Grassroots Football at The FA, said: "Once again, these awards have provided us with a brilliant platform to celebrate the tremendous work that takes place across all of our County FAs. 

I am always impressed by the quality of the projects submitted which demonstrate the hard work, passion and dedication across our County FA teams, who work tirelessly to support our grassroots game.

My congratulations go to all of the winners, and to everyone involved in delivering new and innovative projects to grow and enhance grassroots football."

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