Fans at National League North play-off contenders Chester FC fans have taken just three weeks to hit the club's £100,000 fundraising target.
The Blues hailed the “outstanding” efforts of their supporters on Friday night after the success of their ambitious £100k ‘Boost the Budget' campaign to help them hit the ground running next season whatever league they're playing in.
According to a statement released by officials at the Deva Stadium, fans donated in their hundreds, pledging over £25,000 in the first three days and £57,455 in the week one alone.
By the end of week two, they'd reached £80,000 after the players pitched in and officials at the fan-run Deva Stadium received a generous donation from Galactico Sports to top up the cash flooding in from supporters.
? We gave you seven weeks to raise £100k in #BoostTheBudget. You've done it in just three. Outstanding. This club. ?
What next? We keep pushing on – that's what! ?
Pledge here ? https://t.co/Yp4quzLr6o ? pic.twitter.com/4OAF1yt1tG
— Chester FC (@ChesterFC) July 3, 2020
The Blues are set to carry on fundraising until the original deadline they'd set at the end of July as fans were hailed by joint managers Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley: “This is a quite superb achievement by the Chester supporters. To set an ambitious target in seven weeks, for it to be smashed in just three, is simply magnificent.
“We have always talked about why we are at Chester, and it is because of you – the supporters – we know this kind of thing is exactly what you are capable of. There's four weeks still to go in this fundraising drive, so we would say that the sky is the limit. Yes, £100,000 was the target and we have met it, but the further we can push that figure up makes a massive difference.
“Every penny counts. That doesn't mean every penny up to £100,000, it also means we can stretch this sum of money even further. We have to thank our incredible pledgers, but we are also speaking to our home crowds here.
“We average 2,000 fans per game at the Deva, so can we get even more of our loyal supporters involved in Boost the Budget? “Forgive our Delia Smith impression but… ‘where are you? Let's be havin' you!'
“We have still got a long way to go until the deadline, and there's still a lot who may not have contributed – so spread the word and help us drive that amount up even further!”
I love this club ?? https://t.co/7nCAuwr3KH
— Anthony Johnson (@amjonno) July 3, 2020
City Fans United Chair Andy Morris said: “When we set the Boost the Budget goal of £100,000 many supporters of the Club, and those outside the Club, may have thought we were being overly ambitious.
“They didn't factor in the incredible generosity and feeling of togetherness that our Club has with our local community.
“Reaching this target, alongside all the other fantastic work to raise funds, has shown the entire football community that fan ownership can be a viable model at this level even during the most difficult of times and everyone associated with the Club and City should be proud of this achievement.
“The key factor of the Boost the Budget campaign is that the funds raised are ring fenced to support the first team squad and wider player development in the first team environment for the 2020/21 season.
“Given we have smashed this target so soon, and that supporters are still wishing to support this specific cause, we hope this figure can continue to rise ahead of the deadline at the end of July to support the excellent work that the management team have done over the last two years on and off the pitch.”
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