The EFL have today announced the 2021/22 Grounds Teams of the Season and Nottingham Forest have been awarded a Highly Commended certificate.
The Grounds team, led by Grounds Manager Ewan Hunter, have worked tirelessly to ensure The City Ground turf has been in an immaculate condition this season.
The EFL Grounds Teams of the Season awards recognise the staff who have produced the best quality playing surfaces across the 72 EFL clubs. Marks are provided by the referee and away team manager for all EFL league matches.
The clubs with the highest divisional average were visited by Neil Rodger from Sports Turf Research Institute, with further assessments carried out including pitch quality, environmental conditions and usage, resources, management and sustainability. In-depth reports and recommendations were then submitted to the EFL Playing Surfaces Committee to determine the winners.
The EFL have announced that AFC Bournemouth have won the Sky Bet Championship Grounds Team of the Season award, with Forest and Middlesbrough receiving a Highly Commended certificate.
Bolton Wanderers won the award in League One and Newport County in League Two.
Dane Murphy, Nottingham Forest Chief Executive Officer, said: βIt is great testament to the skill and efforts of Ewan Hunter and his team that the club has received a Highly Commended status from the EFL.
"With an unprecedented six additional home cup matches this season, it has been a particularly challenging campaign for the ground staff.
"The picture-perfect playing surface adds to the beauty of The City Ground and has certainly helped the team produce some flowing football at home under Steve Cooper.
"We thank all the ground staff for their unstinting efforts with the pitch.β