Merseyside Youth Football League secretary Stacey Savage has been awarded the Nationwide Building Society Mutual Respect Award for her contribution to the local grassroots football community.
The 38-year-old, from Halewood, helped establish the MYFL and has been at the forefront of highlighting abuse at grassroots level. In October, fixtures in the league were cancelled following multiple incidents of 'inappropriate and threatening behaviour' to both league and match officials.
That decision saw widespread support within the football community on Merseyside, as well as nationwide.
READ MORE: Liverpool 'leading race' to sign £35m midfielder linked with Tottenham
Savage voluntarily established the youth football league after searching for a football team for her son. Initially, the mum-of-three struggled to find one before taking it into their own hands and creating their own - Inny Boys.
She has a number of roles across the league, as well as being a youth secretary and welfare officer for St Helens Town.
"I found out I was nominated from one of the referee’s dads just before Christmas. I was taken aback as there’s so many people involved; I questioned why I should get an award because I enjoy doing it," she said after receiving the Mutual Respect Award, an initiative from Nationwide Building Society awarded each month plus two tickets to an upcoming England match.
"For me, it’s a collective, not just me, even though I have to be the one to make tough decisions sometimes. I’m really proud to accept this award.
"The positives of grassroots football aren’t publicised as much as they should be. Too often we focus on the negatives," she added.
"From the start of a season versus the end, you get to see kids develop and how happy they are when they score a goal. Especially the kids who don’t have the most ability, it’s fantastic to see what they’re achieving. You also become a community, I’ve gotten to know each coach, child and their family individually."
The decision to cancel the round of fixtures in October came following abuse that spanned from the beginning of the season. The league has over a hundred teams from under-7s to under-17s.
Savage wants to bring to light that abuse of all kinds is unacceptable, she said: "Up and down the country, issues are creeping in more and more. I’m a qualified referee myself, as is my son, and I got the whole team to go on a referee training course.
"It’s important to make people realise that there’s an individual behind the uniform when they’re getting too wrapped up in the game. Even just shouting at a referee isn’t acceptable – it can be intimidating, especially for the younger ones.
"Some of our referees were getting upset and something had to be done, so we called an emergency meeting with all our clubs and suspended all the fixtures for a weekend.
"It just blew up from there. It went onto national and local news! It got everybody talking about it and other leagues began to take notice. Sometimes, leagues don’t want to highlight it as you don’t want other people to think your league has a problem, but it needs everyone to work together to combat and implement change.
"Mutual respect is so important in grassroots football and something I push for all the time. For example, just because you’re a referee doesn’t mean you should be disrespected or be disrespectful. Just because I volunteer to run a league doesn’t make me better than the coaches and the volunteers who give their own time up for children to play football. We’re all doing it to create a fun environment where kids can learn from each other and enjoy themselves. Even when you’re not in a great mood, your approach to somebody is vital."
READ NEXT
