Blyth Spartans AFC has announced a new in-kind sponsorship deal with local charity the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland. The charity will be the club’s shirt sponsor for the 2014-15 season.
The deal was agreed after club chairman, Tony Platten, who chose the Community Foundation as his charity of the year, offered free sponsorship of the club’s shirt for the upcoming season.
The Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland is a grant-making organisation which has awarded over £5m in 2013-14 to support local communities in Tyne & Wear and Northumberland. Tony and his wife Anne are the latest philanthropic family to open a fund at the Foundation and, in addition to the in-kind sponsorship opportunity; they aim to support local people into employment with over £100,000 a year through The Platten Family Fund.
Tony said:
“Blyth Spartans is a local club full of ambition. Whilst I wouldn’t want to make comparisons between our charitable sponsorship to that of Barcelona and UNICEF, I do believe that ambition is best shown by example. We’re delighted to offer free in-kind support to the Community Foundation which helps to make stronger communities through its grant making, including many local grassroots sports activities in Blyth and the local area.”
Ash Winter OBE, Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Community Foundation added:
“We were delighted to be approached by Tony with the offer of free sponsorship of Blyth Spartans. Football clubs such as this make up the fabric of our local community, showing the passion that exists in our region. Blyth Spartans have a great history as well as ambition and community awareness. Community is our cause, and we hope this new exposure can help us to reach new audiences, to extend our giving to those who really need our support.”
The new sponsorship deal is one of many developments at the football club, which recently stated its ambition for the season by retaining several key players while also adding some exciting new ones to its squad.