Liverpool County Football Association  has landed the Special Recognition Award at the 2020 County FA Recognition Awards for its World in One City League.

The Awards, which were hosted online for the first time due to Covid-19 restrictions, recognise and endorse the best projects, products and services launched by County FAs over the past season while sharing best practice and learnings from around the country.

Over 125 submissions were entered from the 50 County FAs operating across England, highlighting continuous improvements and showcasing how they are innovating to improve football and increase participation across all levels of the game. 

The ten categories recognised at the awards were: 

• Brand Engagement
• Digital Engagement
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Football Development
• Insight & Data
• Partnership
• Women & Girls
• Respect
• Youth Council
• Special Recognition.

Liverpool County FA was handed the Special Recognition Award for the World in One City League, which aimed to reach out to different nationalities within local communities regardless of their age, colour or religious beliefs, simply to bring them together using football as the universal language to break down barriers. For many people within these communities English is the second language. It was hoped this would help to reduce social isolation through community cohesion and improve the health and wellbeing of participants. The league is sponsored by Sovini Ltd, and Liverpool County FA thanks them for their support of the programme.

Liverpool County FA CEO, David Pugh said: "As my tenure as Chief Executive comes to an end, this is a surprise that clearly recognises the magnificent contribution that my team play in the community. It fills me with great pride that we continue to serve this great game. May I personally thank The FA for selecting us as winners of this prestigious award. 

"This is a team effort led by Stuart Carrington and Isaac Pollard and it is a fitting tribute to their dedication and hard work. Long may it continue, that we provide everyone with an opportunity to be involved in playing football irrespective of their background." 

The FA’s Director of Football Development, James Kendall added: “It gives us great pleasure to recognise and reward our County FAs for the vital work they continue to deliver across their local communities, and I want to thank each and every one of them for the resilience and leadership they have shown over the course of the year.

"In what has been an unprecedented year of challenges, we now have the highest number of males playing affiliated football recorded to date, and we have delivered on our collective ambition to double participation in the female game. This is testament to the hard work of all our County FAs and everyone should be congratulated for these achievements."