At our latest meeting the Committee resolved to continue sponsoring the Rovers’ Youth Academy from the 50/50 half-time draw. The exact amount is still to be decided and of course it is totally dependent upon you great people continuing to support the draw. Last season we donated a total of £23,000 in four ‘chunks’ for the Academy and then a further £6,000 to the then newly-formed Development Squad. Those figures were based on the previous season’s success both on and off the pitch and in the end we had to dip into our reserves to meet the targets we promised to the Football Club when results turned out less than everyone connected had hoped!.
We are holding back a little this time round to see how things go before committing to figures but I’m sure they won’t be too much different if the team start the new campaign as well as they finished the last. The Committee took an early decision to help kick-start the revised Women’s Team that has been restarted by our award-winning Community Trust to the tune of £5,000 and they have got off to a great start in their recruitment of girls for the two sides. Much more on this I’m sure in the near future. Meantime thanks for your continued support – it’s vital!