It’s been a while in the planning, but Bristol Rovers Supporters Club are now in a position to launch their caps initiative.
Essentially, it is proposed that every player to have represented Bristol Rovers in league football will be awarded a cap bearing the club’s logo and the number he was when representing the club for the first time.
For example, Jon Nolan, who made his debut when going on as a second half substitute at Newport on March 5th, became the 978th player to play league football for the club.
The Supporters Club has purchased 1,000 caps and will, initially, concentrate on awarding them to players and/or their families who have played for the club since the resumption of football following the Second World War.
At some point in the future we would like to trace descendants of any player who played for Bristol Rovers from 1920/21 through to the final completed season before the outbreak of War though, naturally, this is a long term project!
Ahead of the grand launch of the scheme later this year, we will be presenting caps to the current squad at the training ground and we hope to do this on Thursday, 7th April.
All caps are available for sponsorship by supporters and a two tier pricing system will be in operation, namely £60 for Supporters Club members and £70 for non members. All sponsors, as well as the player, will receive a commemorative certificate and a photo of the presentation which will also be posted on the Supporters Club website.
Full details of how to sponsor a player can also be found on the website and it’s worth noting that there is no limit to the number of people who can sponsor the same player.
This is, of course, a long term project but it is hoped that supporters will welcome the initiative and support it through the sponsorship scheme, as income raised will be used to assist the Football Club, either through donations to certain departments or for specific projects such as helping to improve facilities for disabled supporters at the Memorial Stadium.
Naturally, there are some problems with the initiative, in that statisticians don’t include players who only played for the club in the Conference, nor do they include players whose only appearances have come in cup competitions or the aborted 1939/40 season. Perhaps, in future, we can come up with a way of recognising those players in a different way.
It is hoped that all will agree that this is a worthwhile project and that as many supporters as possible will assist the Supporters Club in tracking down players we no longer have details for. It is also appreciated that there will be some players who have been more popular than others, particularly in recent times, but it is felt that the project will only succeed if it is an all inclusive one.
Supporters who wish to sponsor any member of the current playing squad should, in the first instance, register their interest by emailing secretary@bristolroverssc.co.uk
You should state which player(s) you wish to sponsor, and if a member of the Supporters Club, quote your membership number. Your application will be acknowledged, and you will be advised how to make your sponsorship payment.
Please note that sponsorship details for players not in the current squad will be made available at a later date and prior to the official launch.