An award-winning volunteer from Malvern Town Football Club has been hailed by Stuart Pearce for his inspirational exploits.

Josh Moorhouse, 23, was crowned one of three Pitching In Volunteers of the Season for his long-term commitment to the Northern Premier League Premier Division club.

And to honour his efforts, Moorhouse 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 on the famous Aviva Stadium pitch alongside legends Diego Forlan and Robert Pires.

Former England captain Pearce, an ambassador for Pitching In, made a surprise visit to Malvern last week to congratulate Moorhouse on his achievement.

Pearce, who started his career at Wealdstone before navigating his way up to the highest level, knows people like Moorhouse are the lifeblood of the non-league game and urged others around the country to follow in his dedicated footsteps.

“It’s an absolute honour for me to be here, have a chat with Josh and congratulate him,” said Pearce, who earned 78 caps and helped England reach both the Italia 90 World Cup and Euro 96 semi-finals.

“I had five and half a years in the non-league set up before I got started, so I’m acutely aware of people of Josh’s ilk, who put in so much time and effort in and enable people like me to go on my football journey.

“He’s 23-years-old – it’s nice to see someone as young as Josh lending his time and being part of the set-up here.

“They’re vitally important – he’s not just doing the stuff he’s really skilled at, he’s happy to do any time of job on matchday to help out.

“Josh will be a major asset to this football club – because of his age if nothing else.

“When you talk to him you realise how bright he is – you can pick up how much of an asset he is, he’ll be a major asset for wherever he works but at the moment, certainly at Malvern.”

Moorhouse, who started volunteering at the club last year after graduating from the University of York, said: “I didn’t see the award coming and you never expect to win these kind of awards – you come down, do what you do at these clubs up and down the country.

“There are so many people similar to me, and we do it because we love our football club.

“It gives us immense enjoyment to come down, run it as best we can and to improve on and off the pitch.”

Moorhouse first volunteered with the hope of assisting on the financial side of the club to help advance his accountancy career. 

His remit has widened as the season has progressed, even filling in for the club kitman on occasions, and he now is urging everyone to get stuck in at their local club.

He added: “I started at the beginning of last season and been doing quite a lot of different things from player registration to being in the dugout filling in for the kitman.

(Image: Pitching In)

“There’s lots of stuff – I love it down here and the output is what happens on the pitch. We’ve had some great days out there, looking round seeing how many people are following the football club.

“I’d definitely say come down and volunteer – you can get involved in so many ways.”

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

Moorhouse’s prize included flights to Dublin to watch Atalanta beat Bayern Leverkusen in the Europa League final, two nights’ accommodation, a training session with Forlan and Pires before the opportunity to play on the pitch the day after the final.

He added: “Dublin was absolutely amazing – I went with expectations and everything got surpassed.

“To be in the changing rooms the morning after Europa League final with Diego Forlan and Robert Pires, made it so special for everyone there.

“It was amazing for me to be there, to win the award and go is an experience I’ll never forget.

Ladbrokes, with the support of its owner Entain, has launched a multi-million-pound investment programme, Pitching In, designed to support and promote grassroots sports. For more details see: https://www.entaingroup.com/sustainability-esg/entain-foundation/pitching-in/ and to find volunteering opportunities near you, see: pitchinginvolunteers.co.uk