Stadium to be renamed after late football knight

Evo-Stik Northern Premier League Bamber Bridge are set to rename their Irongate ground The Sir Tom Finney Stadium.

The First Division North club will officially honour the legendary football knight - pictured, who died in February aged 91 - at a special ceremony in July before taking on Preston North End.

Club secretary George Halliwell said: "We have changed our stadium name as a tribute to Sir Tom. I can’t believe nobody else has done this but he was a real favourite down at the club and attended a great number of functions. Everyone is pleased to see the stadium named after Sir Tom and it’s a real privilege."

The club are also set to contribute to a number of Sir Tom’s charities, including the Sir Tom Finney Soccer Development Centre. The centre is a registered children’s charity and is FA Charter Standard accredited.

Halliwell added: "We are going to hold bucket collections throughout the season to help raise money. Another thing we will do is donate plenty of junior kits. I have spoken with managers at the junior teams and they are all more than happy to do this."

Finney scored 187 goals in 433 Football League appearances for Preston, his only club, and played 76 times for England, scoring 30 goals.