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Gianni, QPR & BTFC
As many of you probably know I play semi-pro football for Buckingham Town FC, I am also the club captain.
Buckingham Town play in the United Counties League which is 5 leagues below the football league. Buckingham Town were formed in 1883 (127 years ago) and have a great history in the league, FA cup, and FA vase.
Buckingham have recently suffered with financial problems due to the 'credit crunch' and the harsh winter which has led to many of our home games being postponed which in itself has caused losses in funds. The club has been unable to pay bills or rent for the stadium, the players & staff have had to go unpaid for a couple months now, and recently the landlord/bailiffs have closed the ground completely. The club is around £6,000 to £10,000 in debt, and this has to be paid by July or the club will be forced to close. As a massive QPR fan (my family down the generations also) I have seen the hard times when QPR were close to going out of business. It was not a nice feeling as a fan, and I would hate to see the good local people of Buckingham go through the same pain and lose their local club.
About a week ago I emailed QPR to see if they could help Buckingham Town with a couple of signed shirts to auction at a fund raising event we have organised. If I am being honest I sent the email randomly, not expecting a reply but worth a try kind of attitude.
Imagine my surprise when last Thursday I received a telephone call from Gianni Paladini. He said he saw my email and would like to get more information and to see if he could help. I explained the situation to Gianni, and he was willing to help as he knows how it feels to be involved with a club in financial trouble. He invited me down to the training ground today (Monday 15th March) to have a meeting with him to discuss how QPR could help. My Dad (also a massive QPR fan) and I made the trip from Milton Keynes to Harlington and had a meeting with Gianni, a lady called Sue, and Paul Morrissey (The man from QPR player). After a successful meeting QPR have decided to help Buckingham Town by doing the following:
* QPR will send 2 signed shirts & a few signed balls for BTFC to Auction at the up coming fund raising event.
* QPR will advertise BTFC financial problem on qpr.co.uk, QPR Player, and a home match programme. The advert will be to advertise a donation page to be set up by BTFC. (The ball is in motion with this as I type)
* QPR playing staff and owners will organise a donation on their behalf and send a cheque to BTFC.
I came out of the meeting buzzing with the news, and hopefully QPR have helped to keep a great non league club afloat with their generosity.
I took my boots, with a hope of getting involved with training and maybe my last shot at making the big time (I am 26 so times getting on), but unfortunately the squad was busy preparing for tomorrows game V Reading, so I couldn't just join in.
I would like to thank QPR for firstly giving me the time of day to talk to them. I would also like to thank Gianni Paladini for even responding to me and inviting me down to the training ground to meet with him. I would also like to thank Paul Morrissey as he has took charge of the situation and will help me with organising everything.
For those that are interested thanks for reading this, and if you are interested I will post a link to the donation page if you would like to help also when it is complete.
May I take this opportunity to also point you in the direction of the Buckingham Town website: www.bt-fc.co.uk
If any companies are interested in sponsorship, Buckingham Town offers various sponsorship packages including:
* Advertising board around the pitch
* Advertising in match day programme
* Match Sponsor
* Player Sponsor
I have took a couple of photos from today which I will attach to my profile, so just click my name w12chris to have a look.
Thanks for reading.
Chris
* EDIT...THE LOCAL PRESS DO KNOW ABOUT THIS AND I HAVE A INTERVIEW WITH THEM COMING UP....QPR WILL GET A GREAT MENTION FROM ME AND BUCKINGHAM TOWN FC.
Buckingham Town play in the United Counties League which is 5 leagues below the football league. Buckingham Town were formed in 1883 (127 years ago) and have a great history in the league, FA cup, and FA vase.
Buckingham have recently suffered with financial problems due to the 'credit crunch' and the harsh winter which has led to many of our home games being postponed which in itself has caused losses in funds. The club has been unable to pay bills or rent for the stadium, the players & staff have had to go unpaid for a couple months now, and recently the landlord/bailiffs have closed the ground completely. The club is around £6,000 to £10,000 in debt, and this has to be paid by July or the club will be forced to close. As a massive QPR fan (my family down the generations also) I have seen the hard times when QPR were close to going out of business. It was not a nice feeling as a fan, and I would hate to see the good local people of Buckingham go through the same pain and lose their local club.
About a week ago I emailed QPR to see if they could help Buckingham Town with a couple of signed shirts to auction at a fund raising event we have organised. If I am being honest I sent the email randomly, not expecting a reply but worth a try kind of attitude.
Imagine my surprise when last Thursday I received a telephone call from Gianni Paladini. He said he saw my email and would like to get more information and to see if he could help. I explained the situation to Gianni, and he was willing to help as he knows how it feels to be involved with a club in financial trouble. He invited me down to the training ground today (Monday 15th March) to have a meeting with him to discuss how QPR could help. My Dad (also a massive QPR fan) and I made the trip from Milton Keynes to Harlington and had a meeting with Gianni, a lady called Sue, and Paul Morrissey (The man from QPR player). After a successful meeting QPR have decided to help Buckingham Town by doing the following:
* QPR will send 2 signed shirts & a few signed balls for BTFC to Auction at the up coming fund raising event.
* QPR will advertise BTFC financial problem on qpr.co.uk, QPR Player, and a home match programme. The advert will be to advertise a donation page to be set up by BTFC. (The ball is in motion with this as I type)
* QPR playing staff and owners will organise a donation on their behalf and send a cheque to BTFC.
I came out of the meeting buzzing with the news, and hopefully QPR have helped to keep a great non league club afloat with their generosity.
I took my boots, with a hope of getting involved with training and maybe my last shot at making the big time (I am 26 so times getting on), but unfortunately the squad was busy preparing for tomorrows game V Reading, so I couldn't just join in.
I would like to thank QPR for firstly giving me the time of day to talk to them. I would also like to thank Gianni Paladini for even responding to me and inviting me down to the training ground to meet with him. I would also like to thank Paul Morrissey as he has took charge of the situation and will help me with organising everything.
For those that are interested thanks for reading this, and if you are interested I will post a link to the donation page if you would like to help also when it is complete.
May I take this opportunity to also point you in the direction of the Buckingham Town website: www.bt-fc.co.uk
If any companies are interested in sponsorship, Buckingham Town offers various sponsorship packages including:
* Advertising board around the pitch
* Advertising in match day programme
* Match Sponsor
* Player Sponsor
I have took a couple of photos from today which I will attach to my profile, so just click my name w12chris to have a look.
Thanks for reading.
Chris
* EDIT...THE LOCAL PRESS DO KNOW ABOUT THIS AND I HAVE A INTERVIEW WITH THEM COMING UP....QPR WILL GET A GREAT MENTION FROM ME AND BUCKINGHAM TOWN FC.
NPower Champions 2010/2011
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