Skanderborg win Grassroots Day best club award

The ability of Denmark's FC Skanderborg to integrate both elite and grassroots football in harmonious manner has led to them being awarded the 2014 UEFA Grassroots Day Award for best club.

FC Skanderborg are a large football club in Jutland with more than 1,100 members and over 60 teams, who manage the difficult skill of prioritising and integrating the two sectors. The club feel that the biggest advantage of being able to embrace both the elite and grassroots is that they then have role models for their youngest members, while the elite players also take part in developing the youth players.

Denmark has long been a trailblazing nation when it comes to grassroots football, the Danish Football Association (DBU) placing great importance on its efforts to help youngsters bloom. "For the DBU, it's crucial to focus on amateur football," says Steen Jørgensen, DBU head of children and youth. "The work that is done within amateur football guides the players who end up being elite players."

"We have everything from playground sandbox football, for Under-5s, to our second-division team," says Skanderborg youth chairman Nicolaj Lorentzen. "We also have U21s and U19s. We have everything. We also have girls, so we have approximately 65 teams in total. It's a big club."

Skanderborg have been a DBU Fair Play Club for several years, and have clearly defined fair play politics for children, young players and adults. They work together with local schools and other institutions, and are very aware of their position as the largest club in the municipality, constantly striving to be a pioneer organisation within the region with respect for the other smaller clubs. One concrete example has been their installation of the first artificial turf in the municipality, where all the clubs in the area have the right and opportunity to use the pitch.

The DBU is proud of its Grassroots Award winners. "I'm very impressed by the work Skanderborg have done so far," says Steen Jørgensen. "There are several things I think they do so well, like the organisational structure they have implemented in order to bring the football together, since it's a merger club. The work with the volunteers at the club is extraordinary too."

The club have six different stadiums/facilities for training and matches, and with several initiatives – e.g. activities for children and youngsters, and communal eating – they manage to create club life and close relations between players and teams of all ages and levels. "I think the inspiration is huge," Skanderborg U11 coach Nick Fischer reflects. "[The young players] listen very carefully when someone from the senior team comes and talks about something. It means a lot." U11 player Magnus Lorentzen agrees. "I think it's very cool when the second-division players come and train us," he says. "Our shooting improves and it's a lot of fun."

"I've always been a big football fan, so I looked up to the players from my favourite team," says elite player Jannik Friis. "But it could, of course, be the players from your own club, and not only stars. It's definitely important to have someone to look up to. It's very motivating."

Another of the club's successes has been their girls teams, with some players also taking on coaching duties when they are not playing themselves. "Skanderborg have always had girls' football," says Nicolaj Lorentzen. "One year we were the best girls club in Jutland, we won the prize for best girls team in Denmark."

Now acknowledged for their extraordinary efforts with a 2014 UEFA Grassroots Day Award, what does working for Skanderborg mean to those at the club week in, week out? "First of all, it's their happiness," Nick Fischer comments. "They think playing football is good and it brings them happiness to come to the training sessions. If I can help them learn something new, it just makes me happy too."