A FOOTBALL boss has been awarded for his continued influence in the community.

Club secretary of Southminster United Jozef Dymond has been awarded the “Keeping Football Positive” award from the Essex FA.

Jozef is not only club secretary but is also the assistant manager of the women’s team.

The Keeping Football Positive award reflects someone who has created a positive environment for players and staff around their club.

Jozef has been at the club for five years and is in his second year as club secretary.

On the award, he said: “It means a lot and I don’t do it for my benefit, I do it to bring kids to the club and to make sure we provide for them.

“I didn’t know I’d been nominated until I got an email from Essex FA saying I’d won.

“It’s a good community-spirited club, we’ve got five youth teams and especially on the committee, we make sure we know all the players and parents.

"It's important to form a personal relationship - we say it’s their club and we listen to what people may want from us."

Emily Mackler, who is part of the women’s team at Southminster United, added: “I haven’t yet found anyone within the club that Jozef doesn’t get on with.

“He always says that the main part of football is man managing and he has shown this through the relationships he has, especially with the women’s team.

“The ladies themselves and the club went through a horrendous time when they lost their Manager Liam Phillips to a short fight with cancer, Jozef became for a lot of the girls, a very safe person to talk to.”

“Away from football, Jozef is there for people just as much as he is on the pitch.

“Now taking a more active role running the club he is more involved with parents and the younger teams and it’s amazing to see such a nice relationship with everyone within the club.”