FANS of Rothbury Football Club are being urged to back local businesses by joining the Reds’ new membership scheme.
The Northern Football Alliance Division One side are teaming up with traders in the Coquet valley and further afield to offer discount incentives for a £10 joining fee, while also hoping that any businesses involved will see an upturn in revenue following the Coronavirus lockdown.
The club membership scheme was the brainchild of Rothbury defender Sam Proudlock, who has been involved in similar schemes while at University.
“We had a socially-distanced meeting as a club committee during lockdown and I pitched the idea,” said Sam, who is now a Doctor of medicine.
“I thought it would be good to get involved with the local community in this way. Covid-19 has affected all of our lives in some way or another; physically, mentally or logistically. The financial impact this pandemic has had, particularly on independent businesses, is not to be overlooked. So, as an incentive to shop locally, businesses could offer an exclusive discount for Rothbury FC members upon presentation of a membership card.”
Sam started pitching the idea around and has been pleasantly surprised at the response that the proposed scheme has already received.
“It’s been great so far, with up to 10 businesses signing up to the scheme, including La Mensa, the Queens Head, Rothbury Family Butchers and many others. I have been extremely grateful for the response, but I am still looking for more. Part of the problem is that my message to local Facebook pages did not deliver so many could not see it, so it is not a selective group of local retailers so don’t worry if you are a local business and haven’t heard from me, it’s probably just not got through to you,” he continued.
“There is absolutely NO COST to the business. They would be able to decide their own discount and add/remove/alter it at any time. The membership fee would be £10 and you would receive a Membership Card, as well as a cover letter detailing the updated list of current discounts on offer,” said Sam.
“The membership fee goes a long way to keeping up going as a football club, from pitch maintenance to training gear to giving me a lucrative new contract at the club,” he joked.
“As well as benefitting the club financially, we hope that it can provide a great platform to work with the community and help each other in what are very strange, unprecedented times.”
Any businesses that are interested in getting involved with the Rothbury FC membership scheme, or have any questions regarding it, should contact Sam at samproudlock@btinternet.com or via his Facebook page.
“The discounts would be completely at the businesses’ discretion - this could be cheaper drinks on a Saturday (match day) or 10% off upon production of membership card, for example. The deal would be completely up to the businesses themslves and can be added or removed at any time. We would also give you a shout out on our social media accounts, offering free weekly exposure to over 1800 users across three platforms. We are looking to get the membership card up and running in the next few weeks, so I would be grateful if people could keep an eye out for any updates.”
Rothbury’s season was thrown into turmoil as the pandemic wiped out the Alliance programme but the Reds have now reported back to pre-season training under the watchful eye of new manager Danny Olson and his assistant Rob Marshall. Rothbury have also appointed a matchday physio with Emily Robertson joining the Armstrong Park set-up.
“We’ve only had a few sessions back with the new coaching set up, but it’s been class. Obviously, it’s been hard work after so long without playing but the attitude from the lads has been immense, and we all know that hard work now will pay off whenever the season is able to start,” said Sam.
“Danny, Rob and Emily have been extremely welcoming - as welcoming as pre-season fitness can be anyway! - and we’d like to think we have welcomed them to the club in return. It’s just nice to be back on a football pitch and hopefully get the club moving in the right direction again.”
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