Volunteers are the lifeblood of any non-League club, and that’s no different at Pitching In Southern League Premier Central club, Leamington.
The Member of Parliament for Warwick and Leamington, Matt Western, is a regular at Your Co-op Community Stadium on the terraces to support the Brakes when his parliamentary schedule allows but with the help of our title sponsors, Pitching In, Matt joined forces with the club to volunteer at their fixture against Bromsgrove Sporting last month.
Voluntary duties at clubs like Leamington vary completely. From media work to ground maintenance, youth coaching and stewarding, the list of jobs that keep clubs running is never ending.
Supporters attending the Southern Premier League Central fixture were greeted by the MP at the gates, who was selling programmes that help raise vital money for the club – with the creation of the excellent Matchday Programme also a voluntary role.
Just ahead of kick-off, Matt then took to the PA system – with all speakers around the ground recently renovated by a volunteer – to announce the line-ups for the game which Leamington won 2-0.
Max Passantino, Head of Media at Leamington FC, said: “It was a pleasure to host our local MP Matt as well as Gareth from Pitching In to help raise awareness of the importance of volunteers at this level.
“With hundreds of volunteers at the club from the junior teams right up to the first team, our club simply wouldn’t run without them.
“We are a true community club, and to feel part of it through volunteering really does give a feeling that you’re putting some positivity back into the local area and helping a local organisation flourish.”
The visit was set up by Pitching In, who run a volunteer hub online in order to help clubs get those vital voluntary positions filled.
Matt Western added: “It was great to have the chance to volunteer at the fixture against Bromsgrove Sporting last month.
“You can see first-hand, as a spectator, how much the volunteers do to make fixtures like this run smoothly and give the crowd a positive experience so to play a small part in that over the weekend was enjoyable… and the day was made all the better by a 2-0 win!”
Leamington have won five of their 11 League games so far this season to sit in the middle of the table. They host Stourbridge on Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile, England Football are hosting a two-day free event this week called Your Game, which takes place at Swindon Supermarine FC between 10am-4pm on Wednesday, October 25th and Thursday, October 26th.
This event is for 14-24 year olds who would like to learn about roles in football outside of playing.
You’ll have the opportunity to meet experts from all levels of the game and try roles such as refereeing, coaching, club administration, media and marketing, as well as much more!
This event is free to attend and those who are there will be provided with England Football kit tops and free lunch.
Your Game will be held at The Webbswood Stadium, Supermarine Road, Swindon, Wiltshire SN3 4BZ.
You must be able to attend both days to sign up.
Don't forget that we are always keen to feature the great work of volunteers at all of our Member Clubs, get in touch and let us shine a light on you! SEND EMAIL
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