Ambitious Wire launch United Utilities partnership

AMBITIOUS Warrington Town Football Club is set to unveil a new community partnership with locally based United Utilities as part of plans to help move the non-league club towards their eventual goal of football league status.

The club which played host to Liverpool and England Legend Roger Hunt in his early career is reaching out into the community in its efforts to build a footballing legacy within, what is the largest town in the UK without a Football League team.

The new community partnership is aimed at increasing participation in sports, and in particular football within the wider Warrington community, with an emphasis on how sport can assist in the quest for an improved healthy lifestyle. On the back of this partnership the club has appointed its first full time employee, a community development officer. The post has been created thanks to sponsorship from United Utilities, who have their regional HQ in the town, together with Sports Match funding.

The club's new community development officer James Standing, who had his footballing career cut short by injury, has already helped forge links with the club's many junior teams and local schools, who have all been benefiting from a new 3G training facility which opened at the club last year, thanks to a £50,000 grant from landfill waste charity WREN.

In the coming year James will be rolling out, after school and Saturday morning clubs, disability tournaments, a United Utilities community cup, as well as helping volunteers achieve coaching qualifications. There will also be a community newsletter going to print every quarter.

The partnership will also involve volunteers from the water company helping out on ground improvement schemes and various other projects aimed at encouraging young people to participate in healthy activities.

Local MP David Mowat, who joined a new board of directors to help rescue the club from the threat of extinction four years ago and the town's Mayor Cllr Mike Biggin, will be on hand to help launch the new community partnership, alongside United Utilities Managing Director Steve Fraser.

Plans are also in the pipeline to mark the 25th anniversary of the club’s one and only appearance at Wembley in 1987 when they played St Helens Town in the FA Vase final.

Club Chairman Gary Skentelbery said: "These are exciting times at Warrington Town and this support from United Utilities and Sports Match is a major step forward
for our club. Hopefully this will be another piece in the jigsaw on helping move the football club forward, providing a boost for the whole community."

Steve Fraser, Managing Director at United Utilities, added: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Warrington Town FC to help accelerate and expand its community development work. Together, we hope to use sport as a means of tackling some of the more difficult social issues facing young people in Warrington, through encouraging healthy lifestyles and by providing mentoring and volunteering opportunities”.