TWO of British football history’s biggest names recently came to Frome Town Football Club, as the club reached the half-way point of their 90 Day Community Challenge project set up by The Football Pools.
Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish was joined by Britain’s first £1million player Trevor Francis to have a look around the club and see the progress the club has made after 45 days of work.
Frome Town FC won a grant of £50,000 in December from The Football Pools, celebrating its 90th year, to help renovate their ground in 90 days. The visit from Kenny Dalglish and Trevor Francis came at ‘half-time’, 45 days into the 90 Day Challenge on Wednesday 13th of February.
The Football Pools, the world’s oldest and most popular football gaming company, ran a national competition in November to find two UK football clubs deserving of winning a 90-day makeover costing up to £50,000. Frome Town AFC were joined by St Helen’s Town Junior Football Club in Merseyside as the two winning clubs with both given just 90 days to complete the reconstruction of their clubs.
The two footballing legends met with Gary Collinson, Frome Town FC community development officer, for a tour of the club and the renovations completed so far and were delighted with how much progress the club had made.
“Just from spending the day down here it became obvious how seriously Gary Collinson and the rest of the club are taking this challenge,” said Trevor Francis, who is familiar with the West Country having been born in Plymouth. “It’s obvious how important this club is to the community; not only with regards to football but also as an all-encompassing facility that accommodates for a number different events and activities for the locals here at Frome.”
The 90 Day Community Challenge is an example of The Football Pools’ support to good causes both in football and further afield. Over £1.1billion in donations have been made to sport, the arts and charitable initiatives from the gaming company across their 90 years.
Founded in 1904, Frome Town FC has had a significant input into football coaching across local primary schools. Outside of football, the club engages and accommodates other sports and activities including martial arts, disability classes, festivals, carnivals and charities.
Kenny Dalglish, MBE, who amassed over 350 appearances for Liverpool, added, “It’s a testament to The Football Pools that they remain this committed to these types of community projects and this 90 day challenge is one of their most exciting to date. There is a great atmosphere down here in Frome and I have been astonished by the support that Gary has been receiving from the rest of the club and the wider local community to get the job done within the 90 days that has been set.”
Kenny Dalglish is Scotland’s most capped player of all time with 102 caps and joint leading goalscorer. He had a glittering career with Celtic and Liverpool, before managing Liverpool, winning three league titles and two FA Cups, with Blackburn Rovers whom he led from the Championship to win the Premier League in 1995 and Newcastle United.
Trevor Francis burst onto the football scene scoring four goals in one game as a 16-year-old for Birmingham City against Bolton Wanderers. He played 280 games for Birmingham before joining Nottingham Forest as Britain’s first £1million footballer where he scored the winner in the 1979 European Cup Final. He also made 52 appearances for England and went on to manage Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham City and Crystal Palace.
The Football Pools 90 Day Community Challenge will officially come to an end during the week commencing 8th April and Gary Collinson is confident the club would have reached their goals by deadline day, “It’s been a tall order for a club of our size, but everything seems to be progressing at a good rate,” he said. “In the short time we have had, we have been able to install new dug outs, a brand new kitchen and multipurpose classroom so the early signs are positive.
“The local support we have received so far has been humbling and by April we will have a brand new main stand, fencing and toilet facilities which is all thanks to the amazing contribution of The Football Pools.”
If you would like to get involved with the 90 Day Challenge at Frome Town AFC through donating time, funds or materials please email communitychallenge@frometownfc.co.uk
