Burscough’s Linnets pitch in to support SSAFA

29 March 2023

The simplest ideas are often the most effective.

Take Lancashire team Burscough Football Club, known as the Linnets, which plays in the Premier Division of the North West Counties League. It has, at its Community Stadium Ground, stepped up to support SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity with a simple sign attached to railings.

Now, anyone entering the ground can learn more about SSAFA, the UK’s oldest tri-service charity, how it helps veterans, serving personnel, and their families, and how to make contact to get support, volunteer, or donate.

Paul Gilchrist, the owner and Chairman of Burscough FC, said: “The club is very pleased to be able to support SSAFA and the wider service community, and we have extended an open invitation to SSAFA and the other service charities to make use of the club facilities as a meeting point where serving members, veterans and their families can meet in a safe environment.”

Wayne Kitney, Chairman of SSAFA’s Merseyside Branch, added: “SSAFA in the North West is delighted at the support shown to us and more importantly, the Armed Forces community, by Burscough FC.

“The friendly rivalry on the pitch and in the grounds between players and fans of the home team and visiting teams – whether military or not – will be put to one side for a moment when they pass the sign, and if just one person who needs SSAFA’s support picks up the phone or goes on to the website, then it’ll have been worth it.”

SSAFA was founded in 1885 and has helped countless thousands of the Armed Forces community over the last 138 years, with more than 66,000 supported in 2021 alone, and it does this through the generosity of the public donating time as a volunteer or with a financial donation.