It was great to see local MP, Claire Young, visit Yate Town Football Club last Friday, to meet some of the amazing volunteers who give so much to make the club what it is today.
Local MP Claire Young (second from the right) with some of the volunteers at Yate Town FC.
Yate Town Chairman, Mark Thorne (pictured right), was happy to talk to Claire about the excellent start to the season; not just on the pitch but off too. Mark explained how the club had reached out to the local community and has encouraged a new fanbase to attend matches. Reduced ticket prices for parents, when accompanied by children, with the children entering free, have been received by many local schools. The club had a successful “Community Day” in October and helped raise over £500 for their charity of the season, St Peter’s Hospice. Recently the club has promoted what it has to offer by having a community stall in Tesco’s plus the club are also helping a group of students from SGS with their media studies.
Yate Town have taken Yate Utd as the club’s youth arm and have started three Under 18s teams who are also having good success on the pitch.
Crowds have been hitting an average of just over 500 and the club is hoping for this to continue. Claire was very knowledgeable about the club and agreed to visit again in the near future to watch a match and was very interested to talk to the volunteers and find out exactly what they do.
Mark Thorne commented, “It was great to see local MP Claire Young visit the club. She certainly praised the club’s volunteers for their hard work and dedication, and I can’t wait to welcome Claire back later in the season to watch a League match.”
Claire Young added, ”As a football lover myself, I enjoyed my visit to Yate Town FC where I met Mark Thorne, the club’s chairman, and some volunteers to find out about their success on the pitch this season and their great work in the community. Good luck in their forth coming games.”