The Geldart Award 2024: Ian Jowitt
A football coach who has spent more than 25 years making sure no girl gets left behind in football has been awarded the prestigious Geldart Award.
Ian Jowitt, 80, was chosen by the Geldart family in recognition of his contribution to women and girls’ football at Socrates Ladies FC for over a quarter of a century.
The award was donated to the Sheffield and Hallamshire County FA in 2018 in memory of Dorothy and Keith Geldart, who pioneered the development of youth football in the Worksop area in the 1970s and ‘80s.
On selecting Ian as this year’s winner of the award, David Geldart, son of Dorothy and Keith, said: “As a family, we were both humbled and privileged to read so many truly outstanding nominations.
“After careful consideration, we decided that Ian is a worthy winner of this award for always going above and beyond to develop the game across a 25-year period and enriching so many people’s lives in doing so. He clearly lives and breathes grassroots football and is an inspiration to so many people.”
Ian first got involved in grassroots football in the late 1990s when his daughter, then aged six, wanted to join a team.
“When my daughter was at primary school, they organised a football session and she was the only girl to turn up. She got hit in the face with the ball within the first ten minutes and I think all the boys thought she’d just give up, but she carried on and fell in love with the game. She wanted to play for a team,” Ian said.
With limited opportunities for girls to play football at that time, Ian discovered a recently formed girls’ team called Socrates FC based in Totley in Sheffield.
The club, named after the former Brazilian captain who played for the national team between 1979 and 1986, was one of the first independent girls’ teams in the Sheffield and Hallamshire region.
Almost immediately after his daughter joined the team, Ian began volunteering at the club, undertaking a variety of tasks and roles behind the scenes to ensure the team had a game to look forward to.
“There was no competitive football or leagues for girls of that age back then. We had to arrange friendlies with other girls’ teams and travel across the country. It wasn’t easy, but I just wanted to play my part in giving girls the same opportunities as boys and see them improve and grow as players,” he said.
Ian, a former BBC sports journalist, went on to complete the FA level 1 coaching course. He has managed and coached multiple junior teams ever since, even after his daughter left the team to go to university.
In 2013, he took up the position of chair at the club. During his tenure, he’s created an open-age team which joined the Sheffield and Hallamshire Women and Girls league and currently competes in the open age second division.
Despite his age and a recent health scare, Ian has no plans to call time on his position as chair just yet. He is still heavily involved in the day-to-day running of the club, taking care of finance, administration, facilities and marketing. As a former journalist, his favourite weekly task is the match reports.
On winning the Gledart Award, Ian said: “It’s terrific to be recognised. I don’t do it for the recognition, but I get a lot of enjoyment out of it. To keep it going is my main ambition. We’re one of the oldest woman-only clubs in the region and have managed to stay independent all this time. I still enjoy it, even at 80, and I’ll keep doing it for as long as they want me around.”
Socrates Ladies FC manager Giuseppe La Rezza believes Ian’s commitment to the game is unmatched.
He said: “He is one in a million who works tirelessly with the vitality of a teenager to ensure this team continues season after season. He always shows up in all weathers, an hour before training sessions and an hour after training sessions to ensure everyone feels welcome at the club and no girl is left behind.
“From offering reduced rates on subs to players facing financial difficulties, to planning training sessions from his hospital bed after cardiac surgery, Ian is always thinking about how he can help the players.
“Without him this club wouldn’t exist. The work he does in the background every single week can only be described as phenomenal and the entire team is so proud to see his hard work recognised.”
Members of the Geldart family reviewed over a dozen nominations put forward by an external judging panel as part of the England Football Grassroots Football Awards.
Ian will be presented with his award by members of the Geldart family at the 2024 Sheffield and Hallamshire County FA Grassroots Football Awards at Hillsborough Stadium in November.