A group of generous Newport County fans have officially launched and started contributing to a players’ fund to aid the first team’s recruitment drive ahead of the new League Two campaign.
Avid fan and sponsorship partner, Rob Santwris, started the initiative 10 days ago with a move that has already inspired more County fans to contribute towards their beloved team.
The fund has already raised £7,500 with fellow County fans chipping in with one-off donations and even standing order payments.
The appeal has been given the thumbs up from young and old, with one six-year-old fan Olivia typifying the County spirit by organising a sponsored walk around Rodney Parade prior to Saturday’s pre-season friendly against Cheltenham Town.
Olivia will embark on completing as many laps as possible around Rodney Parade in the space of 90 minutes. Her idea has already caught the attention of many Exile fans who have already donated over £750 towards her fundraiser.
The club’s recruitment over the transfer window has been busy with manager Graham Coughlan adding seven new additions to his squad ahead of the League Two opener at Accrington Stanley on August 5th.
The players’ fund has aided that recruitment drive, meaning new additions such as defenders Ryan Delaney and Josh Seberry (pictured above) could be added to the squad.
Delaney was one of the players in attendance at a special launch event at the Mercure Hotel last night.
“It’s a great honour to be here at Newport County and to meet these supporters this evening,’’ he said. “There’s a great community feeling at the club.
“It’s special that the fans have donated money to the players’ fund and to young Olivia’s fundraiser. I wish her good luck and I can’t wait to see how she gets on.”
Co-founder of the player fund, John Phillips, explained the motivations behind the initiative: “This year everybody I’ve spoken to has said it’s going to be a very competitive league with many of our competitors having significant financial resources. Unfortunately, the County don’t have that luxury at the moment.
“The intention of the players’ fund is to create some additional financial resources for Graham Coughlan and the management team to ensure they can bring in the best quality players that we need to make next season a success.
“Building momentum is important,” added John. “Young Olivia is a tremendous example. Together with her family, she has committed her support to her local football club and is prepared to do something to help.
“We all need to ensure league football has a future in Newport.
“We understand it’s a difficult financial time for most people, but quite literally, every penny counts.”
Newport County is thrilled to see the community coming together in aid of the club. The club’s main slogan is ‘One Club One County’, and we believe this has been truly reflective of the efforts we have seen from supporters in recent weeks.
Tickets are now on sale for Saturday’s pre-season friendly against Cheltenham Town (2pm).
You can contribute to the 'GoFundMe' page here.