This week, Liverpool County FA will be continuing to announce the winners of this year’s FA and McDonald’s Grassroots Football Awards (GFA), which acknowledge and celebrate the incredible leagues, clubs and volunteers involved in the game across Merseyside.

During what is a difficult time for so many of us, with grassroots football hit incredibly hard, it is a pleasure to be able to pay tribute to just some of the many factors that make our game so special – and emphasise why, when we can come back, we’ll come back stronger.

MATCH OFFICIAL OF THE YEAR

It’s with great pleasure that Liverpool County FA announces the winner of the 2020 FA and McDonald’s Grassroots Football Awards’ Match Official of the Year – Callum Jones.

Callum not only concentrates on his own refereeing journey as a Level 4 referee, but also those of other referees in his own county and nationally. He helps put on fitness training and development sessions for younger Liverpool FA referees sometimes, even before going on to do night shifts in the factory he works at. He also is a member of the National Young Referee Development team which is committed to helping grassroots referees in the country. His commitment to not only his own journey but to that of helping others is inspiring, he really is committed and cares about refereeing in England.

He has made a big impact locally and nationally, by bringing new ideas to Liverpool County FA and the national commitment to developing referees. He makes younger and new referees more confident and helps them into the Liverpool County FA development group by making them feel a sense of belonging. He will go and watch their games if they ask for help or advice and will be at the end of the phone any time of day for anybody.

His commitment, passion and drive for refereeing is inspiring. Nothing is ever too much for him and all his spare hours are put into refereeing whether that be his own game, Livepool County FA or NYRDT. Refereeing can be a very self-focused environment, as everybody is chasing that same opportunity to be the man or woman in the middle; and as much as Callum has that mindset he clearly cares about improving the ability of others and also making refereeing be inclusive and enjoyable for everybody involved.

From everybody at Liverpool County FA – congratulations Callum!