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Award-winning volunteer praised for his efforts by Stuart Pearce

Mark Frost, 50, was named one of the season's three Pitching In Volunteers for his long-standing commitment to the Northern Premier League Premier Division club.

And to honour his efforts, Frost was rewarded with a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Dublin for last season's Europa League final, where he got the chance to play alongside legends Diego Forlan and Robert Pires on the pitch at the famous Aviva Stadium.

Former England captain Pearce, a Pitching In ambassador, made a surprise visit to Ilkeston last week to congratulate Frost on his performance.

Pearce, who began his career at Wealdstone before working his way up to the top flight, knows that people like Frost are the lifeblood of amateur football and urged others across the country to follow in his dedicated footsteps.

“It is an absolute honour for me to be here, to chat to Mark and to congratulate him,” said Pearce, who won 78 caps and helped England reach the semi-finals of both the 1990 World Cup and the 1996 European Championship.

“Before I started, I was active in the amateur league for five and a half years, so I am very aware of people like Mark who put in so much time and effort and enable people like me to follow my path as a footballer.

“They are of crucial importance and I warmly congratulate him.”

Frost, who started volunteering for the club 12 years ago, said: “I don't play football to be in the spotlight, to be praised and to be recognised – but for me it means an awful lot.”

“I have to thank everyone in my club who is also part of it.

“To be recognized by people I really respect and by the people at Pitching In is just an honor.”

Frost's son Matthew, now 20, was born with a heart defect and lost a leg after a post-operative infection led to a heart attack and stroke.

This soon led to Frost giving up his job to focus entirely on his son.

After moving to Ilkeston Town with his youngest son Richard to play for the Mini Robins, Frost was asked to get involved in the club's youth department.

And that was the beginning of a varied volunteer career that ranged from caring for over 400 local children each week to marking out playing fields and dressing up as Santa Claus.

He added: “This gives me so much joy – more than anything else in football.

“I love football. It means everything to me and I never thought that football could give me back what it has given me.

“Volunteering is so important – without people like me and others, football would struggle.

“If I could say anything to anyone, it would be to come and give a few hours to your local club. What you get out of it as a person is more than just winning the game.”

(Image: Participate)

Pitching In, Entain's grassroots investment programme and sponsor of the Trident Leagues, has launched the Volunteer of The Season award to honour the thousands of volunteers across the country who dedicate their time to supporting grassroots and non-elite football.

Frost's prize included flights to Dublin to see Atalanta beat Bayern Leverkusen in the Europa League final, two nights' accommodation, a training session with Forlan and Pires, and the chance to play on the pitch the day after the final.

He added: “We were treated like VIPs. We met the guys from the pitching in, had a couple of pints of Guinness and then went on a training session with Diego Forlan!”

“It was fantastic from start to finish. Meeting all the players was completely unreal and just an absolute dream come true.

“Playing in the stadium and seeing the jerseys hanging next to the team lineups in the dressing room – for someone who loves football, it was just a great experience.”

Ladbrokes, with the support of its owner Entain, has launched a multi-million pound investment programme called Pitching In, designed to support and promote grassroots sport. For more information visit: To find volunteering opportunities near you visit pitchinginvolunteers.co.uk

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