Grandmother Margaret Simons said she was still buzzing today after being named the nation's top unsung sporting hero.

The 86-year-old football club founder picked up the award in front of millions of television viewers at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year competition.

She said: "It was fantastic, absolutely fantastic. I've never been to anything like that, it was out of this world.

"When my name was called I was flabbergasted.

"I had to walk in the middle of everybody right on to the stage."

Mrs Simons, of Maple Road, Bicester, was handed the trophy by Oxfordshire tennis star Tim Henman after beating competition from 14 other regional winners.

The grandmother-of-two took her daughter, Anne Kendall, 50, to the ceremony, which was broadcast live on Sunday night from Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre.

And she rubbed shoulders with scores of celebrities during the after-show party - meeting Sir Steve Redgrave, Terry Butcher, Amir Khan, Sharron Davies, Sir Bobby Robson and Sir Alex Ferguson.

The former school dinner lady, who was even given her own dressing room, stole the show by joking to the 8,000-strong audience that she would now like to take on the England coaching job.

Today, she told the Oxford Mail her husband Albert, who watched the show at home, had thought of the quip for her in case she won.

She said: "I'd been rehearsing that. If you get the audience laughing they are with you. They called me the star of the evening because of that comment."

The regional and national trophies will take pride of place on her mantelpiece and sideboard once they are engraved.

Mrs Simons founded Bardwell Football Club in 1964 after taking a football into Bicester's Brookside Primary School to keep youngsters amused at breaktimes.

Since then about 3,000 children between the ages of seven and 16 have represented the club.

Mrs Simons, who was nominated for the award by club secretary Kevin Barker and chairman Roy Crosth- waite, also received a £2,500 bursary to pay for new sporting equipment.

Mr Barker said members of the club watched the ceremony on screens at The Six Bells pub, in Bicester.

He said: "We were hysterical - cheering and shouting.

"It was great. I couldn't be more pleased for her. It's a great tribute to all her work over the years.

"She is an inspiration to everybody."

When asked by the Oxford Mail, an FA spokeman said it could not comment on whether Mrs Simons would be considered for the vacant England manager's job, but said the association could rule no-one - including Mrs Simons - out.