The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) has announced two new award schemes in honour of its late chair, Alex Millar.

The Alex R Millar Award for Pitch of the Year and the 2012 Fund's Alex R Millar Bursary Fund will reflect aspects of the industry that Millar was deeply passionate about.

IOG Chief Executive Geoff Webb said the new Pitch of the Year award would be an annual award open to all professional football clubs throughout Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland.

"The difference with this award will be that it will be groundsmen themselves that will vote, in much the same way that the Professional Footballers' Association votes for its player of the year,” he added.

Millar was IOG National chair from 2002 up to his death last year and was the IOG representative on football's Playing Surfaces Committee, helping to establish the Football Groundsman of the Year awards.