AFC Portchester chairman Paul Kelly has received a special award to mark his long service for the club.
He was presented with a 20 years service award from the Portsmouth Divisional Football Association (PDFA) – the first level of long service award presented to prominent members of the football community in the Portsmouth area.
Kelly has already qualified to receive their 25 year and 30 year service awards, such has been the length of time he has been with the Royals – which has now entered its fourth decade.
He has completed 14 years as AFC Portchester’s chairman – covering a period of the club’s history when the first team has risen from Step 6 to Step 4 football and completed an unprecedented quadruple last season.
Before his spell as chairman, Kelly had filled a number of roles in the youth section of the club, including fixtures secretary and helping to manage and run teams at youth level. He also became one of the lease holders when the club took on the piece of land on Wicor Recreation Ground which has now become The OnSite Group Stadium.
Paul was presented with his award by Wessex League chairman Nick Taplin at the club’s home game against Tavistock on September 20.
On receiving the award, Kelly said: “I’m really proud to have received this award, and would like to thank Nick for presenting it to me and for the PDFA for recognising my long service to the club and football in this way.
“I’m really proud of what we have achieved down the years at AFC Portchester and of the things that will no doubt come in the future, such is the continued development of the club.
“I often say you are only as good as the people around you so this award is as much about the hard working volunteers who give so much to the club, as well as what I have done too. Both myself and the club could not have achieved what we have done without the help and assistance of so many people down the years and I thank them for everything they have done.
“It’s great to receive this recognition of my long service not just to AFC Portchester but in football generally too. My grateful thanks to those who put my name forward and supported the nomination. It means a lot to receive this.”
