A village football team has secured a raft of new shirts thanks to a sponsorship deal with a developer.
FC Kennett used its £860 sponsorship money from Ashberry Homes for purchase 16 shirts for its first team, which plays in the 3B Cambridgeshire Sunday League, and 14 for its under-12s.
The club said the remainder of the money will go towards buying 10 new bucket seats for new dug outs at the first team’s pitch, which the club hopes will make the set-up more professional.
FC Kennett, based at Kennett Playing Fields off Station Road, has secured a raft of new shirts in a sponsorship deal with Ashberry Homes. Picture: Submitted
Ashberry Homes is building 164 new houses at Lark’s Place, in Kennett Garden Village.
Neil Gilmore, FC Kennett chairman, said: “It is wonderful that Ashberry Homes, which has a big presence in the area through the houses it is building locally, has agreed to sponsor us with this sizeable contribution.
“This is the first time that our first team, which was only formed three years ago, has had sponsored shirts and it is great to see them run out to represent the club wearing them.
“The money has also enabled us to purchase match-day shirts for the under 12s who needed some new kit as some of the lads have had growth spurts and were struggling to fit into their old shirts.”
Mr Gilmore added the under-12 team loves their new kit, and stand taller now that they have new shirts on
FC Kennett was founded in 2010 and has 198 registered players in 12 different teams, including two girls’ sides.
It is based at Kennett Playing Fields, off Station Road.
Georgia Smith, sales manager at Ashberry Homes, said: “When Neil approached us to ask for sponsorship for the club we were very happy to help out.
“FC Kennett is directly opposite our development and is a fantastic grassroots club run by a dedicated band of volunteers and they deserve all the support they can get.
“It is great to know that some of the money will be going to improve the facilities there by helping to fund the purchase of seats for the dug-outs at the side of the first-team pitch.
“We are proud to be official supporters of the club and to have two of the teams there sporting our name on their shirts.”
Ashberry Homes is part of the Bellway Group, which is also building 160 new homes at The Ferns in Kennett Garden Village.
The new community-led neighbourhood has been planned to deliver 500 new homes and a new school site for Kennett Primary School, a village centre and green open spaces.