BEST PRACTICE | HARBOROUGH TOWN FC
KEZ MARCHESS ON! Kez Dunkley’s path to success as the winner of the 2019 GMA National Governing Bodies’ Community Sector Sports Club Grounds Individual of the Year Award is a story of career change, re-skilling and hard work
Andy Carmichael Freelance writer
20 GROUNDS MANAGEMENT | MAY 2020
I ARRIVED EARLY at Harborough Town FC to meet head groundsman, Kez Dunkley, and he’s nowhere to be seen. Someone thinks he may be out on the pitches, or perhaps he is helping with a project in the clubhouse? A few minutes later he appears, and it soon becomes clear why he is a man on the move: his responsibilities include not only the playing surfaces but also the club’s premises. After 16 years deployed around the world in military service, Kez joined Leicestershire and Rutland County FA as premises manager at its Holme Park site. His interest in grounds management began when he started cutting pitches when the facility’s groundsman was on holiday. Enjoying the work, Kez moved to Harborough Town FC five years ago. Since then, his turf management duties have developed significantly as the number of pitches and sports teams has increased. The site has doubled its playing area over the last 12 months. Funding to do so has come from a number of organisations: the Premier League and The Football Association Facilities Fund (delivered by the Football Foundation);
