New initiative carried out by Football in the Community designed at boosting family involvement with Mansfield Town.
Over 200 school children from Shirebrook will be at One Call Stadium for this Saturday’s Sky Bet League Two encounter with Newport County.
The scheme is part of Football in the Community's (FITC) in-school programme, where over 700 local kids are visited by the department each week.
The scheme is part of Football in the Community's (FITC) in-school programme, where over 700 local kids are visited by the department each week.
The children have been selected as part of the new initiative by our Community team, which is aimed at getting more families coming to watch games from now until the end of the season.
FITC Director Mark Hemingray explained the new initiative.Â
He said: “It was an idea we had after a conversation with Tina and Paul (Broughton), that we could really do with getting more tickets out in schools and getting more people in our family section.
“Tina and Paul very kindly said we could have 200 tickets to give out in schools, plus the 100 that we get for every game and give to local children.
“So we get 300 tickets per game as a community scheme, which we give out in various places – 200 in schools, then 100 for different community groups, or the kids who come [to our sessions] on Saturday’s.”
He continued: “This week we’ve visited all the schools in Shirebrook. There are five schools in Shirebrook and the surrounding area, if you include Langwith Bassett, and we’ve given out the 200 tickets.
“The reason we chose Shirebrook is because the Shirebrook Stags’ supporters group very kindly bought us a speed gun, which is a very important piece of kit.
“The kids get lots of enjoyment out of it, whether it’s used for birthday parties, holiday courses or in schools, and it’s something that we can’t really do without.
“So as a gesture back to Shirebrook Stags, we thought we’d deliver the 200 tickets in the Shirebrook schools, who are going to come to the Newport County game on Saturday.”
Hemingray added: “The bottom line is that Football in the Community is here to get people interested in this football club.
“We do various activities, including trips, soccer courses, birthday parties, etcetera, and we want to get kids and more families down to One Call Stadium to watch the games.”
Football in the Community will deliver more tickets to local schools in the forthcoming weeks, as part of their daily in-school programme.
Pictured below is Football in the Community officer  Gary Shaw at the schools earlier this week:
Football in the Community will deliver more tickets to local schools in the forthcoming weeks, as part of their daily in-school programme.
Pictured below is Football in the Community officer  Gary Shaw at the schools earlier this week:
