West Essex FC have been one of 1000GBP.com’s biggest winners since The Ultimate Football Quiz was launched this season as a way of fundraising for non-league clubs.
The Essex Senior League side have already been awarded more than £1700 and, as their General Manager Dan Reading explained this week, the money will be an enormous help to the club.
‘We currently run 3 adult teams, 23 junior teams and 5 girls only teams, and hope to add to those soon as well. Even though we are all volunteers, it still costs us something like £150,000 a year to keep them all going, so this £1700 from 1000GBP.com is an incredibly useful and unexpected addition to our budget.’
60 different players of 1000GBP.com have already nominated West Essex FC as their benefiting club and Dan suggested that the flexibility of the available playing options is partly behind its popularity.
‘One of the best things about 1000GBP.com is that people can choose how and when to play and select different levels to suit their income. It all helps. They are supporting the work of the club and enjoying a great quiz as well’.
The football club was formed in 1989, when a group of friends who played for the West Essex Cricket Club also wanted to play football together during the winter. Their soon-to-be re-opened clubhouse is at Rolls Sports Ground in Highams Park, in a densely populated part of east London, although their teams play in several different locations in the area.
Having led a peripatetic existence, this is the third season their First XI have shared Wadham Lodge Stadium with neighbouring Walthamstow FC, but Dan is ambitious for the future.
‘Our long-term goal is to have our own stadium at Rolls Park as we believe the club is an essential part of the local social fabric. East London is not a wealthy area, and there are high levels of unemployment and many people are on low incomes, so we have a duty to support them as much as we can by providing affordable sporting activity for the community.
‘The first team get around 100 spectators and that can sometimes rise to maybe 250 for an FA Cup match’ said Dan
‘but because we want to make the matches as accessible as possible, we keep the prices low at just £6 for an adult, £3 concessions and free for U16’s.’
The spirit and dedication of the volunteers who run the non-league game are typified by Dan who, as the club’s General Manager, covers all aspects of the support operations for the adult teams. He joined the cricket club as a 10 year old in 1982 and has been embedded in the football club since he helped found it 35 years ago.
‘Just being involved with a local community club like ours is very fulfilling, and at senior level we’re all especially proud that we punch well above our weight and can compete with sides who have considerably bigger playing budgets.
‘The first team are semi-professional, but at this level they aren’t contracted to the club so team sheets tend to be pretty fluid during a season and player turnover can be high. That’s why we are creating a player pathway that builds from the bottom up, rather than competing with some of the crazy money on offer in the ninth tier.
‘We have a very strong club ethos and a philosophy that is based around passion, identity and respect. We always try to be very fair to the players, and treat them well and with consistency, and that applies to all our teams and at all levels and is very important to us.
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We are very fortunate to have an incredible team of sponsors, volunteers, coaches and supporters and some great players, and it is enormously rewarding to see how much enjoyment so many people, especially the youngsters, get from being a part of the club.
‘But that needs money and all our costs are rising so we are always looking for new ways to fundraise and I’m forever hustling friends and local businesses to help out. As well as the usual raffles and fundraising events we are constantly looking for things that are new and innovative and also fun and that’s why 1000GBP.com is ideal.’
Dan and the club first became aware of 1000GBP.com when information about The Ultimate Football Quiz was sent out by Michelle Dorling, the League Secretary at the Essex Senior League.
‘Michelle is always looking for initiatives to help clubs out and, for smaller community clubs like ours, £1700 can make a massive contribution as we are very modestly funded.
We’re very proud that we’ve managed to grow from a park side to being in the Essex Senior League, but also that we’ve developed the many other teams we now run for the community.
That is only possible because of the time that our chairman Mark Penfold and his excellent committee put in. Del, Tracey, Sheena, Mario, Richard, Tony, Sandra, Richard and Billie are our true local heroes.
But that’s also true of everyone else associated with the club who invest time and effort in www.westessexfc.org.uk. Additional funding from sources such as 1000GBP.com will undoubtedly help with our growth so I hope lots of our supporters keep playing the quiz and nominating us for half their winnings!’
