Over 300 guests from football stadia across the country have celebrated their ‘off the pitch’ successes at The Official Football Hospitality Awards 2013 last night. Now in their 9th year, the awards recognise the efforts and dedication shown by the catering, conference and events teams at every football stadium across the UK from the Premier League to League Division 2.
The prestigious event, organised by Stadium Experience, was held at the Madejski Stadium, home of Reading Football Club. 43 different football clubs were eligible for at least one of 18 possible awards. Some awards were entered by the club themselves and others by nominations from fans, media and other club directors.
The overall winner of the evening was Aston Villa Football Club, who scooped the top gong for Overall Matchday Hospitality Experience 2013, fighting off tough competition from across the Leagues.
The full list of award winners includes:
Media Choice Award (Voted for by media attending matches across the UK)
WINNER – Aston Villa Football Club
SILVER – Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club
BRONZE – Chesterfield Football Club
Directors Choice Awards (Voted for by football clubs board of directors when they visit an away match)
Directors Choice in League 2 Award – Bradford City Football Club
Directors Choice in League 1 Award – Coventry City Football Club
Directors Choice in the Championship Award – Hull City Football Club
Directors Choice in The Scottish Premier League Award – Celtic Football Club
Directors Choice in the Premier League Award – Manchester City Football Club
Chef Team of the Year Award – Sponsored by Salon Culinaire
(Live theatre competition in January 2013 in front of Salon Culinaire chef judges)
WINNER – Everton Football Club (GOLD 1st in Class)
GOLD – West Bromwich Albion Football Club
SILVER – Arsenal Football Club
BRONZE – Newcastle United Football Club
MERIT – Hampden Park Stadium, Aston Villa Football Club, Morecambe Football Club
Conference & Events Sales & Marketing Award – Sponsored by BDRC Continental
(Judged by a mystery shopper style telephone call enquiry and follow up process)
WINNER – Reading Football Club
SILVER – Swansea City Football Club
BRONZE – Aston Villa Football Club
Special Achievement Award – Sponsored by FC Business
(Judged by panel of award sponsors and the Stadium Experience Awards committee)
WINNER – Julian Jenkins, Cardiff City Football Club
SILVER – Conference & Events Team, Birmingham City Football Club
BRONZE – Michael Moran, Newcastle United Football Club
Star For The Future Award – Sponsored by FC Business
(Judged by panel of award sponsors and the Stadium Experience Awards committee)
WINNER – Tom Gorringe, Cardiff City Football Club
SILVER – Jameel Skeet-Pierre, Everton Football Club
SILVER – Adam Lamb, Birmingham City Football Club
BRONZE – Sophie Dymond, Reading Football Club
The Green Hospitality Award
(Voted for by the Stadium Experience Awards committee)
WINNER – Newcastle United Football Club
SILVER – Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club
BRONZE – Aston Villa Football Club
The Fans Choice Award – The Football Pie League
(Voted for by fans using the H&C News Facebook fan page)
WINNER – Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club
SILVER – AFC Bournemouth
BRONZE – Morecambe Football Club
Matchday Hospitality Experience Awards
(Reported by professional chef judges who experienced hospitality at UK clubs this season using strict criteria)
Matchday Hospitality Experience Award in League 2 – Morecambe Football Club
Matchday Hospitality Experience Award in League 1 – Notts County Football Club
Matchday Hospitality Experience Award in the Championship – Birmingham City Football Club
Matchday Hospitality Experience Award in Scottish Premier & National Stadia – Hampden Park Stadium
Matchday Hospitality Experience Award in the Premier League & National Stadia – Aston Villa Football Club
Overall Winner Matchday Hospitality Experience Award
WINNER – Aston Villa Football Club
SILVER – Hampden Park Stadium
BRONZE – Newcastle United Football Club
Stadium Experience Chair Person Lisette Maas, from Notts County Football Club, commented: “These awards recognise those dedicated teams who work tirelessly off the pitch at football stadia across the UK to make hospitality, conferences and events run seamlessly for their customers. These often invisible teams continually raise standards across the industry, working both matchdays and non-matchdays to ensure that in some instances up to 90,000 visitors are catered for to an exceptional standard each and every time.”
We managed to speak to Frankie Angus, General Manager for Sodexo Prestige at Newcastle United Football Club this morning “Everyone working for Sodexo Prestige at NUFC is delighted that our commitment to energy efficiency has been recognised in the Green Award Category and that we as a company taking green issues very seriously. It was also fantastic to see both our chefs and one of our key members of staff recognised for their excellent work.”.
Frankie’s colleague Ian Simpson, General Manager for Sodexo Prestige at Everton Football Club added “This is the latest in a number of awards our chefs have won at Everton and it is fantastic for everyone to see their skills acknowledged yet again. We have an exceptionally strong team and to come out overall against some very tough competition in our industry is really gratifying.”
Reading Football Club Chairman, Sir John Madejski, added: “We are really proud to have The Football Hospitality Awards here at Reading Football Club. We pride ourselves on the way we treat our clients and we feel a match day is reflected by the hospitality we provide. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the award winners.”
See the latest updates on The Stadium Events & Hospitality Awards.
