SINCE moving into management, Gary Simpson has made plenty of money for Non-League clubs from selling players; over £1m for Macclesfield and Lincoln City bear testimony to that.
The 53-year-old's current spell out of the game has given him extra time to devote to Non-League in a much more technological way, however, helping grass-roots teams with some much needed revenue.
After playing for many Non-League clubs, and serving as assistant-manager at Ilkeston and Northwich, he knows how much any extra income is welcomed.
Together with business partner Nathan Griffin, Simpson is behind a new app called ‘FootballBuster' – a fundraiser game traditionally popular in the pubs, social clubs and sports teams of his native Sheffield for over half-a-century.
Former England, Tottenham and Sheffield Wednesday winger Chris Waddle is a patron.
Simpson says: “I want FootballBuster to become synonymous with grass-roots. The dream for me is to raise over £10m with grass-roots clubs.”
Put simply, a club organiser can set up a secure, and fully-licenced buster game in five minutes via the website.
Players join by paying £10 into their account, which gives them two games. On average each game lasts four weeks.
A player chooses two numbered footballs, and is then awarded two clubs at random. The number of goals those teams score in live fixtures is calculated and the game is won when a player lands on exactly 21 goals.
Headache
“The beauty of it is that even if a player joins their club's buster game on matchday three, for example, their two teams' goals are backdated so players can join in at anytime,” says Simpson.
“The games run all year, and they grow month by month as players join. It's never too late for a club supporter to get involved.
“Clubs find fundraising difficult and chasing money from supporters and paying out winnings is always a real organisational headache. Now we've developed this new app it's all managed for them online. Players can register and check the scores on their phone and it's up to the club to decide how much they wish to collect from the game.
“We charge a small fee per player to cover finance and admin costs, making sure almost all funds raised stay within the club.
“One club to take advantage is Horden CW AFC, who currently have over 50 players involved, choosing a 50/50 split to the winner, or winners, and club. They will raise hundreds each month by promoting the game on their website.
“A key feature of the new app is clubs have a far greater reach in inviting supporters, and players from other countries are already joining UK club games. We've already proven the buster games can continually raise considerable funds for grass-roots and Non-League clubs for many years to come.”
Clubs can register and download the app by visiting https://footballbuster.com
