HUST is delighted to continue working in partnership with Hereford FC to offer the exciting opportunity for our Exiles, at home and abroad, to “Pay It Forward” to offer free seats in the stadium at MandM Edgar Street for disadvantaged or vulnerable fans in our community.
Members of HUST are encouraged to put forward ideas to the HUST board for improving the matchday experience for all fans and this one was no exception. Richard Bennett introduced the idea and after discussions with the Club on how to make it work to best advantage we were thrilled to launch this ahead of our first home match vs Darlington in August 2023.
Richard, who lives in the States, tells how he came up with the idea: “As a lifelong Hereford fan, now finding myself nearly 5,000 miles away from Edgar Street, I was looking for a way to bolster the club’s funds but also give something back to the local community. As an expat the thing I miss the most is football. There is nothing quite like the matchday experience in person, so to be able to give this to those less fortunate is a fantastic opportunity.”
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Any HFC fan can become a Social Inclusion Project Matchday Ticket Sponsor by donating anything from a one off match ticket to a full season ticket (or multiple ST’s!) worth of tickets. You choose!
The donation “pot” is split across all home matches for the season to give us the number of seats that will be available to offer to members of the Community that are needing support. The more money in the pot, the more seats we can offer. Should the recipient of a ticket need the support of a carer, these will be catered for too.
As we launch this again for a third year, our thanks go to those exile fans who have already pledged to the project.
We have previously supported the Ukrainian, homeless, dementia and refugee communities.
We look forward to supporting many more across the coming season.
For more information please email: community@hust.org.uk
Please get in touch if you would like to join the rising number of exiles who are taking part in this project, or if you are an Agency/Community Support Charity, who has clients that would benefit from the experience of a ticket to watch a match at Edgar Street.