Local grassroots football club receives support from Northampton head-quartered Forterra
Building products manufacturer Forterra has chosen to support AFC Diamonds, a volunteer-run not-for-profit football club, as part of its Local Charity Initiative scheme.
The Northampton and Higham Ferris based club will put the donation towards things like new kits and training spaces.
AFC Diamonds was founded by supporters in the summer of 2011 following the closure of Rushden & Diamonds FC. To this day it is still entirely volunteer-led, from the Chairman to the administrative teams. AFC Diamonds has expanded far beyond its predecessor, with multiple teams including the first adult men’s team, women’s and girls’ teams, an academy from under 12s to 18-year-olds, the community youth teams run by parents and even a “walking football” section for seniors.
The club has a community outreach program that extends past the pitch, frequently working with different charities to raise money for worthy causes; it has bucket collections at most of the matches and in some cases it pledges 10p per supporter as a donation.
They also run a stall at Rushden’s own Party in the Park event hosted each summer, offering competitions, refreshments and an opportunity to talk about coaching and soccer skills.
The club’s impact on the local community has led to high numbers of attendees at their matches, pushing upwards of 1000 for the first team. With upwards of 1,000 members and players, the club is a huge part of the local community.
“In 2012 when I joined the board, I had no intention of becoming the vice chairman,” said Alex Raspin (35), the club’s vice chairman. “I’m a huge football fan and have supported the team since the days of Rushden & Diamonds, attending my first match in 1996 at the age of six. Donations like the one from Forterra are incredibly important, as every penny we receive goes into a pot to fund our activities and helps us to sustain and grow as a club.”
Joe Parker, Head of Marketing Communications at Forterra, said, “It’s been a fantastic opportunity to support a local organisation with so much passion and enthusiasm, especially since the club relies on the dedication of a group of volunteers. We hope this donation will help fund their future activities.”
The donation is a part of Forterra’s Local Charity Initiative, which grants individual factories and offices the ability to provide funding support to causes close to their local communities. Explore the full range of Forterra building solutions online, at https://www.forterra.co.uk/.
You can learn more about AFC Diamonds on their website here: https://afcdiamonds.com/.