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EFL reveal winners for Best Grounds Teams of the 2023/24 Season

The EFL reveal the winners for Best Grounds Teams of the 2023/24 Season with clubs playing their final matches home and away.

The EFL Grounds Teams work hard to ensure that pitch surfaces are of high quality in all weather conditions. Grounds Teams of the Season Awards recognise staff who have created the best playing surfaces for each division.

Referees and away team managers provide pitch marks for all EFL League games. Neil Rodger from STRI (Sports Turf Research Institute) visits the top clubs in each division, based on their divisional average, to conduct further assessments. These include pitch quality, environmental conditions, usage, management, and sustainability.

After all visits to clubs are complete, detailed reports and recommendations are submitted to the Playing Surfaces Committee. At this point, winners are then determined. Each division’s winners will receive a certificate and trophy.

Right, time to see who EFL reveal as the winners for Best Grounds Teams of the 2023/24 Season…

Leicester City, Carlisle United and Stockport County have been named the 2023/24 Grounds Teams of the Season in the EFL. 

The award celebrates the staff who work tirelessly throughout the season, and in all weathers, to ensure that pitch surfaces are of the highest quality.

Pitches are assessed by the referee for all EFL League matches. The top Clubs from each division with the highest divisional average are then visited by members of the team from STRI (Sports Turf Research Institute), where further assessments are carried out, which cover pitch quality, environmental conditions and usage, resources, management and sustainability. 

Title-winning Leicester City were the winners in the Championship, while Leeds United and Watford were highly commended. 

Despite a difficult campaign for Carlisle United, their home ground, Brunton Park, has been kept in exceptional condition. League One winners Portsmouth and Exeter City were also highly commended. 

League Two winners Stockport County won Grounds Team of the Season for League Two after being highly commended in 2022/23 for their Edgeley Park surface. Harrogate Town and Notts County were also highly commended in League Two. 

Championship 
Winner – Leicester City 
Highly Commended – Leeds United 
Highly Commended – Watford  

League One 
Winner – Carlisle United 
Highly Commended – Portsmouth 
Highly Commended – Exeter City 

League Two 
Winner – Stockport County 
Highly Commended – Harrogate Town 
Highly Commended – Notts County 

Fans reacted as the EFL reveal the winners for Best Grounds Teams of the 2023/24 Season…

ON STOCKPORT:

@GrumpyCounty: No surprise, this. Brilliant effort to deliver a truly outstanding surface for our team. I’d like to see a better pitch outside of the PL. Thoroughly deserved @_LiamCash and his team 💙

@chris_eaton_:  Really couldn’t be anyone else could it? @_LiamCash and his team are the most underrated part of our club. Unreal surface, week after week 👏🎩

@Padders_22: Champions Again Ole Ole!

@BrownlowJr: Very well deserved but no surprise at all, the pitch has been immaculate all season and still is now, we’re very fortunate to have such a good groundskeeping team.

@sjo74: Congratulations @_LiamCash and your team. What an incredible job you do 🔥🔥🔵⚪️

@SimonGmsil: Well deserved 👏 the pitch has looked outstanding all season 🔥

@TheFMHatter1986: No doubt in my mind @_LiamCash and his team won it better than most Championship pitches, it’s good at the end of the season as well as the start of it

ON CARLISLE:

@mkhalford: Remarkable effort to maintain the high standard throughout the season after the weather we have had. Fully deserved award and hats off to all involved. 👏🏻 👏🏻👏🏻

@1MarkFuller: Congratulations Dave and the team. Your hard work and dedication to produce such a wonderful playing surface fully deserves to be recognised by all.

@topsandollie: Definitely deserved. Pitch looked great at the end of the season

@BenHCUFC: that’s cracking considering some of the competition in there

@benwelsh9: What a team proud to be apart of it @officialcufc 🏆🔥💙 #Cufc

@cufcdanny: Bloody brilliant news. Personally I think it should win the award every year as it’s very hard to find a pitch as good looking as ours in May every single year! Dave & team do such a great job every year! Roll on next season when we win it for L2 #cufc

@spiderwebb2019: Deserves a statue this man does! Said it every season 🔵💙

PREVIOUS WINNERS:

2022/23 – Championship
Winner – Burnley
Highly Commended – Watford
Highly Commended – Stoke City

2022/23 – League One
Winner – Derby County
Highly Commended – Portsmouth
Highly Commended – Ipswich Town

2022/23 – League Two
Winner – Newport County
Highly Commended – Carlisle United
Highly Commended – Stockport County

2021/22 – Championship
Grounds Team of the Season – AFC Bournemouth
Highly Commended – Middlesbrough
Highly Commended – Nottingham Forest

2021/22 – League One
Grounds Team of the Season – Bolton Wanderers
Highly Commended – Ipswich Town
Highly Commended – Lincoln City

2021/22 – League Two
Grounds Team of the Season – Newport County
Highly Commended – Bradford City
Highly Commended – Exeter City
Highly Commended – Tranmere Rovers

2020/21 – Championship
Grounds Team of the Season – Watford
Highly Commended – AFC Bournemouth
Highly Commended- Stoke City

2020/21 – League One
Grounds Team of the Season – Doncaster Rovers
Highly Commended – Plymouth Argyle
Highly Commended – Portsmouth
Highly Commended – Shrewsbury Town

2020/21 – League Two
Grounds Team of the Season – Forest Green Rovers
Highly Commended – Carlisle United
Highly Commended – Cheltenham Town

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