Fans For Diversity help Young Tigers support Gloucester City for second year in a row

Friday 17 Feb 2017
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National League North side Gloucester City AFC welcomed over 70 young people from across different communities for their home fixture against Salford City on Saturday 11 February thanks to Fans For Diversity (FFD).

For the second year running, the Fans For Diversity campaign, run in partnership by Kick It Out and the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF), provided free coach travel for young people to make the trip from Gloucester to the Tigers’ current home at Whaddon Road in Cheltenham.

Supporting MY:UK, a voluntary organisation that works with young people in Gloucester, and the Gloucester City Community ‘Tigers Together’ project, Fans For Diversity also gave participants t-shirts, flags and banners to display at the game, which ended in a 3-2 victory for the home side.

Other activities that Fans For Diversity helped to provide for the young people included a tour of the ground, a meet-and-greet with Gloucester City players and coaching staff, and the chance to lead the team out before kick-off.

Speaking after the event, Mat Liddiard, Gloucester City’s Community Sports Officer, explained the importance of the initiative and thanked Fans For Diversity for its support.

He said: “Through the ‘Tigers Together’ project, we are committed to removing barriers for all young people to not only play the game but more so feel a part of a local club that they can take pride in calling their own.

“We believe opportunities such as these can pave a bridge between diverse communities and the local city club. It’s brilliant to have the support from Fans For Diversity – the memorabilia will leave a legacy with the young people and they’ll certainly remember the occasion.”

Mat added: “We hope continued positive action such as this will give young people from all communities a sense of pride for their local city club and a thirst for returning to Gloucester City with their families and friends.”

Anwar Uddin, lead on the Fans For Diversity campaign, was pleased to work with Gloucester City for the second year running and praised their efforts in seeking out unrepresented areas of the community to get involved with the club.

He said: “It’s fantastic to see so many young people from a range of communities take part in the initiative and go and watch their local side. So many non-league clubs are missing out on support of local people from diverse backgrounds, so here at Fans For Diversity we are delighted to help any club looking to change that.”

Mo Patel, Director of Sport and Community at MY:UK, said: “It was an unforgettable day. To have so many young people from inner-city communities in Gloucester come along and feel part of their local club is just amazing.”

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