Volunteers are the lifeblood of any non-league club, and that’s no different at Warwickshire outfit Leamington FC.
The Member of Parliament for Warwick and Leamington, Matt Western, is a regular at Your Co-op Community Stadium on the terraces to support the Brakes when his parliamentary schedule allows but with the help of Southern Football League sponsors Pitching In, Matt joined forces with the club to volunteer at their fixture against Bromsgrove Sporting.
Voluntary duties at clubs like Leamington vary completely. From media work to ground maintenance, youth coaching and stewarding, the list of jobs that keep clubs running is never ending.
Supporters attending the Southern Premier League Central fixture were greeted by the MP at the gates, who was selling programmes that help raise vital money for the club – with the creation of the matchday magazine also a voluntary role.
Just ahead of kick-off, Matt then took to the PA system – with all speakers around the ground recently renovated by a volunteer – to announce the line-ups for the game which Leamington won 2-0.
Max Passantino, Head of Media at Leamington FC, said: “It was a pleasure to host our local MP Matt as well as Gareth from Pitching In to help raise awareness of the importance of volunteers at this level. With hundreds of volunteers at the club from the junior teams right up to the first team, our club simply wouldn’t run without them.
“We are a true community club, and to feel part of it through volunteering really does give a feeling that you’re putting some positivity back into the local area and helping a local organisation flourish.”
The visit was set up by Pitching In, who run a volunteer hub online in order to help clubs get those vital voluntary positions filled.
Matt Western added: “It was great to have the chance to volunteer at the fixture against Bromsgrove Sporting last month.
"You can see firsthand, as a spectator, how much the volunteers do to make fixtures like this run smoothly and give the crowd a positive experience so to play a small part in that over the weekend was enjoyable.
And the day was made all the better by a 2-0 win!”
The best place to start volunteering at any of the constituency’s clubs is to contact them and express your willingness to help out.
Details of key contacts can be found on club websites, with Leamington also posting their openings on the Pitching In volunteer hub.
