More than 1,000 free tickets to watch Reading F.C will be handed-out to grassroots football teams this season as part of a ‘Tickets for Kids’ scheme organised by Select Car Leasing.
Select Car Leasing, the UK's largest independent specialists for car and van leasing, is the principal sponsor of Reading F.C.
And as part of that unique partnership, Select has earmarked 30 free tickets for young, local players for every home match of the 2022-23 campaign.
That includes 23 games of the Championship season and 11 fixtures to watch Reading F.C Women play in the Women's Super League.
Overall, that’s 1,020 tickets being made available for junior teams to watch the Royals play at the Select Car Leasing stadium.
For many of the budding soccer stars, it represents the first time they will have ever seen a professional match live.
Last week a group of Under 10s - as well as parents and some younger siblings - from Kidmore End F.C, located in Gallowstree Common, Oxfordshire, watched the Reading men’s team beat Stoke City 2-1, courtesy of two goals from in-form striker Lucas Joao.
Kidmore End F.C’s Under 10s play in the Berkshire Youth Development League. And the club’s Treasurer and coach David Bird revealed:
“The kids all had a fantastic time. For some it was their first game, and for others it was the first time they’ve ever seen Reading win!”
In the coming weeks a group of Under 15s from Whitley Youth, located in Whitley Wood, Reading, will watch Reading F.C play Norwich City in the Championship. It takes place on Tuesday October - an atmospheric 8pm night match.
Maria Cox is manager of the Under 15s and her son, Reece, plays for the Reading & West Berkshire League side as an attacking midfielder. She’ll be taking 11 first team players and their parents for the occasion.
(Maria Cox, above, in red dress at recent Pride of Reading Awards)
Maria says:
“I’m absolutely thrilled to be able to take the entire team to Reading F.C to watch the match against Norwich.
“As a lifelong Reading fan, having been to watch the team when they played at Elm Park, it’s going to be a really special night for me.
“Lots of the boys in the team follow Reading - our goalkeeper is already a season ticket holder.
“But for a lot of the players this will be the first time they will ever have seen a professional match. We’re going to use the occasion as a team-building event."
“And we’ll also treat it as an opportunity to watch and to learn, spotting patterns of play and where the Reading players position themselves.”
When she’s not inspiring grassroots footballers, Maria is a community development worker with the Whitley Community Development Association (WCDA).
And, for her, the Whitley Youth Under 15s has become like a ‘second family’ for the youngsters who wear the shirt.
She adds:
“At Whitley Youth we simply want to encourage the boys to carry on playing, even with all the distractions that come with being a teenager.
“And we’ve had some tough times. Some of the players actually lost parents during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“So for us to be able to give them a night to remember with this ticket donation really does make a difference.”
Select Car Leasing’s ‘Tickets for Kids’ initiative was first launched for the 2021-22 season.
It’s open to junior football teams with players under the age of 16 years old.
The ballot process for the competition was open between August 4 and August 25 this year, with one application permissible per club.
Winners were then drawn at random and matches also allocated at random.
Mark Tongue, Director at Select Car Leasing, said:
“As a company, we’re passionate about giving back to grassroots sport.
“I grew up playing football in the local area and, as a youngster, I would have loved the chance to go and watch my beloved Reading F.C. So to now be able to provide such opportunities to hundreds of youngsters is one of the most rewarding things we can do as a socially-responsible business.”
Tim Kilpatrick, Head of Commercial at Reading F.C, adds:
“We’re extremely fortunate to work with a Principal Partner in Select Car Leasing, who are so passionate about our community and our future generation of fans.“Community and grassroots engagement is key to the club’s growth and success – so we’re proud to work with Select in welcoming new clubs and hopefully new (lifelong) fans to the stadium for each and every matchday.”
Select Car Leasing is headquartered in Reading and has offices across the UK.
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