Blues banking on Wembley way!

Frickley Athletic's officials are hoping to raise at least another £1000 towards the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League club's development fund when a rare piece of football memorabilia is auctioned.

After 12 months of fundraising to raise £50,000 for a new community pavilion at the Premier Division club's Westfield Lane, the Blues are now well past the half-way mark with a current total of £28,012 the latest total posted on the dedicated website they launched to coordinate the on-going appeal.

When they auctioned a programme from the 1935 FA Cup Final between Sheffield Wednesday and West Bromwich Albion on eBay in the summer the Blues raised £585. Now they're hoping to outstrip that figure by auctioning an original programme from the 1923 'White Horse' FA Cup Final between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United.

Like the 1935 programme, the 1923 edition is one of more than 3500 gifted to the club by lifelong fan and programme collector Barry Jackson who passed away three years ago. Athletic Chairman Gareth Dando revealed this week that their late fan's generosity had already raised more than £15,000 as he looked ahead to their latest sale.

Dando said: "Barry gave us his collection with the express intention that it was used to raise funds for the long term development of the club. I’ve been selling these now for over two years and in total the sales have raised over £15,000 so far. The 1923 programme is highly sought after and we’re hoping it will raise around a £1000 for our redevelopment fund."

When built Frickley's new development will house four changing rooms, officials changing rooms, additional male, female and disabled toilets and a community function room with its own catering facilities.

The complex will be shared with South Elmsall United Juniors and South Elmsall United Services and will be open to community groups in the area for a range of activities and educational programmes, many aimed at encouraging people to enjoy the nearby country park as well as building the Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division club's future fan base.

For more information on the club's programme catalogue or contributing to the appeal contact Gareth Dando via email at: gdando91@gmail.com.

For more information on the redevelopment fundraising visit: www.fafcredevelopment.weebly.com.