The Suffolk FA Awards Night is one of the county’s showcase events of the year.

The evening is an opportunity for the football community in Suffolk to come together to celebrate the unsung heroes of the grassroots game.

The Awards Night not only features The FA Community Awards presented by McDonald’s but various other awards to groundsmen and referees.

Inaugurated in 2015, the event was staged in the Sir Bobby Robson Suite at Portman Road, the home of Ipswich Town FC.

Guest speaker was former Ipswich Town Chairman David Sheepshanks CBE, who was then joined by the club’s former manager George Burley in a Q&A session.

The following year’s Awards Night was held at the same venue and featured FA Chief Executive Martin Glenn as the Guest Speaker.

The 2017 Awards Night was held at Trinity Park on the outskirts of Ipswich.

Former Liverpool and Republic of Ireland defender Mark Lawrenson, a renowned BBC Match of the Day pundit, was the guest speaker.

The evening also raised £1,010 for Guests of Honour Shaun Whiter and Joey Abbs, the two local footballers seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident in Newmarket the previous July.

The event has reverted to Portman Road since then, with the Awards Ceremony taking place before guests then watch an Ipswich Town home match.