West Auckland Town’s players and staff have become the latest members of a Non-League club in the North East to support the NHS in their battle against the coronavirus.
The Ebac Northern League club’s stars have handed over their entire bonus pool of £3,000 after meeting with the management team and officials at Darlington Road.
Goalkeeper coach Craig Turns told ChronicleLive on Monday: “The decision came from the club’s management, club captain Lewis Dodds and the players committee. We wanted to give something back to the NHS for all of the hard work they are putting in with everything that is going on at the moment.
“Once we had a chat about it, we asked all of the players and we unanimously agreed that it was the right thing to do. The players put money into a pot every week and that normally gets dished out at the end of the season with each player getting a share. But we all agreed to do this for such a great cause.”
Full story of how the players decided to donate the players pool to the @NHSuk Over £3000 on its way. @TonyIncenzo @TheRealTimHealy https://t.co/vy9p3X6Pwt
— West Auckland FC (@westaucklandfc) March 30, 2020
Founded in 1893, West Auckland Town AFC famously conquered the world more than a century ago in Italy in 1909 when they took on the challenge to represent their country and won the first ever Thomas Lipton trophy, later dubbed the “first World Cup” in Turin. The West’s team of coal miners went on to repeat the feat two years later too!
According to Chronicle Live, clubs, players and fans across Non-League in the region are supporting the NHS and the vulnerable in their local communities as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread.
Since the suspension of the Northern League just over two weeks ago, Division Two club Heaton Stannington have donated food to the People’s Kitchen in Newcastle.
Players at National League North Gateshead have sent individual video messages to fans offering support throughout the pandemic while South Shields have been delivering meals to supporters.
Spennymoor Town publicly hailed a number of figures within the club working within the NHS and Blyth Spartans have urged supporters who need help to get in touch with them.
Northern League Division Two club Jarrow are offering half-price season tickets for next season to current season ticket holders to ease the pressure on their personal finances.
Many other clubs are expected to follow suit with ticketing deals and discounts after the seasons of all competitions below Step 1 and 2 were declared null and void by the Football Association.
Northern Alliance Newcastle Blue Star have confirmed that the season tickets purchased before or during the current campaign will remain valid for next season free of charge.
Make sure you get your copy of The Non-League Paper this week for all the latest news in one place on the impact of the coronavirus crisis on society and football’s fightback.
In shops on Sundays and Mondays, it’s always available as a pound-busting digital edition and full replica of the printed paper. Save cash on single issues, even more on longer deals and the pages still rustle too!
Images courtesy of The Non-League Paper & @westaucklandfc/Twitter
