EFL ANNOUNCE WINNING GROUNDS TEAMS

The EFL has announced the winning grounds teams for the best pitches across The Championship, League One and League Two.

In a statement the EFL said, " The 2020/2021 season has been extremely challenging for all Clubs in relation to their pitches but, as ever, ground staff have produced some fantastic work throughout the campaign.

"Carrying out a tremendously important job to prepare their respective pitches for matches and maintain them throughout the calendar, things were made more difficult this season due to the lack of time to carry out pitch maintenance and renovations at the end of the 19/20 season, along with the intense fixture schedule for this season following the outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020. 

"As the 2020/21 campaign draws to a close, grounds teams up and down the country have been recognised for their continued commitment and efforts."

The winners are:

Championship  

• Grounds Team of the Season - Watford
• Highly Commended – AFC Bournemouth
• Highly Commended- Stoke City

League One 

• Grounds Team of the Season - Doncaster Rovers
• Highly Commended – Plymouth Argyle
• Highly Commended – Portsmouth
• Highly Commended – Shrewsbury Town

League Two 

• Grounds Team of the Season -  Forest Green Rovers
• Highly Commended  - Carlisle United
• Highly Commended - Cheltenham Town

Additional info - Marking system
Pitch marks are provided by the referee and away team manager for all EFL League matches. The three Clubs from each division with the highest divisional average are then visited by Neil Rodger from the Sports Turf Research Institute where further assessments are carried out, which cover pitch quality, environmental conditions and usage and resources and management.
 
Once all club visits have taken place, in-depth reports and recommendations are submitted to the Playing Surfaces Committee, at which point winners are determined. 
 
The winners of each division will receive a trophy and certificate.
 
Highly Commended Clubs will receive a certificate.