Member Article

Sponsorship helps Magpies shine in silver anniversary year

A youth football club celebrating its silver (25th) anniversary year is hoping to shine in a new kit donated by a North East based house builder.

Gateshead based Felling Magpies provide football coaching and competition to over 200 youngsters ranging from four to 18 years of age.

The donation of the kit and shirt sponsorship, by Linden Homes, will help the club to continue to support local kids in improving their football skills and developing into successful, happy young adults.

Karl Boyd, Felling Magpies Club Chairman, said: “It is not just the development of football that drives us as a club and coaching staff. We also strive to teach youngsters the social and communication skills that will help them to develop as people and become successful both personally and academically.”

“The new kit and sponsorship is a fantastic help to us and we’re delighted to be involved with a company that will play a big part in shaping the new Gateshead.”

Linden Homes is a national developer of high quality housing, and has recently expanded into the North East building a wide range of properties on some of the most exciting and prestigious site locations in the region.

The company, which is the house building division of Galliford Try, is also the construction partner in the Gateshead Regeneration Partnership (GRP) which includes Gateshead Council and Home Group. The ambitious vision of this joint venture is to transform the housing stock throughout the Borough.

The 20 year programme will see around £350m invested in the regeneration of 19 sites, delivering over 2,400 new homes for private sale and affordable tenures, along with community facilities and public spaces which will help to promote sustainable and long lasting communities.

The brief was to engage some of the UK’s most innovative residential architects to deliver strikingly designed properties which will provide a step-change in the quality of homes delivered in the region.

John Manning, Development Manager with Galliford Try said: “We are delighted to be supporting a fantastic football club that offers so much to the local community. Although our main focus is on improving the quality and choice of housing in the region, we are also aware that truly successful regeneration requires investment in people and communities.

“The support we can give to the Magpies will hopefully achieve exactly that and provide the youngsters with experience of teamwork which will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives.”

This year is not only significant for the Magpies because of the silver anniversary, as the club has already picked up a number of accolades in the last three months.

It was recently voted Durham County FA Charter Standard Club of the year and then selected as regional winners for North East and Yorkshire area, earning a nomination for the National FA Charter Standard Club of the Year Award.

The Magpie’s players were also rewarded for their positive attitude and discipline on the football pitch, being chosen as last season’s Durham County FA Fair Play Team of the Year.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Paul Dobbie .