Humbled and grateful: Worthing FC bosses react to fans and backers giving stadium project £30k in a week

Bosses at Worthing Footbal Club say they are humbled and grateful over the amazing response to their bid to raise £43,000 to make up the cost of major ground improvements.
Worthing fans will see major improvements at the Crucial Environmental StadiumWorthing fans will see major improvements at the Crucial Environmental Stadium
Worthing fans will see major improvements at the Crucial Environmental Stadium

Less than a week after launching a bid to raise the cash to pay for vital upgrades to their Woodside Road ground, Worthing FC were –incredibly – more than two thirds of the way to the target.

As of Wednesday night, the effort had landed close to £29,500 from 210 backers.

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The cash will be added to £107,000 of funds already secured to pay for a wide range of improvements to get the Crucial Environmental Stadium ready for a future in which Worthing aim to have a growing number of sides and their first team in the National League.

Improvements include new floodlights, an additional bar, new toilets and new changing rooms.

Worthing chairman Barry Hunter said the generosity shown towards the club's efforts was astonishing. He told us: "We are surprised - the pace of the total raised going up is staggering. But then again we're not surprised, because of the links we have with our fanbase and with people and businesses in the town.

"It's stunning, incredible. And we are humbled and grateful because we know this is a time when there are many very good, charitable causes out there for people to support."

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Worthing gave themselves eight weeks to raise £43k but it does not look like it will take that long - and Hunter said that meant they could press on with preparing for work at the ground to start, work they hope can be done this summer and in time for the start of the 2020-21 season.

As the fundraising total soared following last Thursday’s launch, Worthing tweeted: “Wonderful, wonderful stuff by all of you, let’s keep it going. Keep supporting us and don’t stop spreading the word!”

The club have come up with a variety of ‘rewards’ people can earn by donating certain sums – including the chance to be mascot, have a training session with manager Adam Hinshelwood and buy lifetime season tickets, of which a number have already been sold.

Hinshelwood promised to run from his home in Selsey to Worthing’s ground if the £20k mark had been reached by this Saturday, a pledge he will now have to keep. Meanwhile Fulham midfielder Harrison Reed, who was born in Worthing, was one of the big early backers with a £2,000 donation.

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Launching the crowd-funder, the club said: “Worthing FC is a truly community-focused club and welcomes over 2,000 people to the ground every week, ranging from junior football parties, youth and adult training sessions, six-a-side leagues through to party celebrations in our clubhouse. Many will know about the continued success of the men’s team but the club is about much more than that.

“Following the launch of a women’s team, two years ago, the team has performed exceptionally well.

“The club also run a development centre for U8s through to U16s aimed at giving all local young players a chance to shine.

“We have extended our youth programme to include U14/U15/U16 teams alongside our U18s including an academy programme in which boys study for a BTEC sport diploma and compete in a National Alliance U19 League. There is a seniors’ football team for over-50s and we promote the local walking football team for older men who like to continue playing football and this year we’ve launched Worthing Inclusive, a disability team consisting of 20-plus boys with different disabilities who have an amazing team bond and are always looking for a new challenge.

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“We’re now about to embark on an exciting and ambitious facilities upgrade to improve our fan and player experience. The total project cost comes to just over £150,000. We are delighted the Premier League Football Stadia Improvement Fund are fully supportive of our ambitions and have committed close to £96,000 to the project.

“We already have £11,000 pledged from a corporate donor. We have made a great start. However, the programme will only materialise if we are able to bridge the gap between the pledges and the overall budget required.”

Alongside the fundraising, Worthing will donate 100 home game tickets for every £10,000 raised to local care homes’ staff and families to recognise the heroic efforts they have all made during the pandemic.

The Mackerel Men were on course for promotion from the Isthmian premier to the National League South this season before football was halted and the FA controversially decided to expunge results for non-league divisions at Worthing’s level – step three – and below.