SWINDON Town are delighted to launch the Pro Red initative in association with sponsors Excalibur.
Pro Red is a scheme designed to connect STFC with youth football clubs in Swindon and the surrounding areas, with Robins FC, Highworth Town Juniors and Melksham Town Juniors becoming the first clubs to join the scheme.
Any youth club in the area can affiliate with a number of benefits on offer.
Affiliate clubs can buy discounted tickets to Swindon Town home matches with 10% of those ticket sales going back to the participating club. On their selected matchday, clubs will also get the chance to play on the pitch at half time and form a guard of honour as the two teams emerge from the tunnel. Clubs are also assigned an STFC First Team Player as their Player Ambassador.
Adam Wainright, the club’s Marketing and Hospitality Executive, explained the thinking behind Pro Red.
“It’s extremely important that the football club form very close links with the community,” he said. “Naturally these clubs play football week-in, week-out and we want to forge a relationship and encourage them as much as we can to support their local, professional football club through an affiliate partnership scheme.
“We want to show junior football clubs that, as the most senior football club in the region, we are very approachable and keen to build bridges and take an active interest in junior football in the region.”
Local company Excalibur are sponsoring the initiative with a grant pot of £5,000 available for affiliate clubs to apply for extra funding. CEO James Phipps explained why he had signed up to Pro Red.
“It’s a good opportunity for the Club to build strong links with the clubs around Wiltshire,” he said. “It’s the largest football club in the area and it’s important that the kids get engaged in football and if they can engage with Swindon Town Football Club it makes for a very healthy football club in the future.
“Excalibur does lots through sporting organisations to help kids engage and be active and a programme that does all of that but helps out my beloved football club at the same time is a great win-win.”
Mark Collet, Chairman of Highworth Town Juniors says that Pro Red will be a massive help for youth clubs in the area.
“It’s a great initiative,” he explained. “It opens up so many more avenues with Swindon Town. It helps get junior clubs involved in football itself and coming along to watch matches I think is a great initiative.
“There’s a lot more that can potentially be done from it as well. I think clubs like ourselves will benefit with a small percentage back in ticket sales which I think is fantastic. Also it gives the opportunity for many new fans of the future to get involved and start watching games.”
Paul Wainwright, Chairman of Robins FC believes that the scheme will greatly benefit his club.
“Robins is a community club, STFC are part of that community and the linking of the two is absolutely excellent. These are the new supporters of the future and it’s excellent that we’re aiming at the young grass roots and turning them into supporters of the future. It’s nice to see them going around in Swindon Town shirts rather than the top Premier League clubs’ shirts.
“Obviously for us clubs we get a discount back and mums and dads get the opportunity to see their sons and daughters on the pitch. I think it’s an excellent initiative, I really do.”
For more information about the Pro Red scheme, please contact Adam Wainwright on 0844 880 1094 or email adam@swindontownfc.co.uk
