Cheltenham Town FC

Non-League Day returns for a fifth season.

Non-League Day, the campaign to promote semi-professional and amateur football, returns for a fifth consecutive season today.

The event, which regularly features on SKY Sports, Soccer AM and talkSPORT, always coincides with a break in the Premier League and Championship calendar, giving a wide range of fans the opportunity to visit their local non-League club. Local clubs near to ourselves are of course Forest Green Rovers, Cheltenham Saracens and Gloucester City.

The newly launched Non-League Day website (www.nonleagueday.co.uk) features a wealth of information and features, including ways to get involved, ideas to boost crowds, online shop and a handy ‘match finder’.

“There are hundreds of thousands of football fans across the country who rarely attend live games” said Mike Bayly, Non-League Day Campaign Manager.

“Often, these same fans live in towns and villages where there are established non-league sides they have never visited. It is these fans we want to encourage, alongside those who may be regulars at larger professional clubs.

“Many clubs have reported new faces returning again on the back of previous campaigns, which is brilliant to hear. Coupled with increasing awareness in the national media, we hope that Non-League Day can only ever be a force for good. Put simply, the more people who visit our non-league clubs or are at least made aware of them, the better.”

The official charity partner for 2014 is Prostate Cancer UK. This will see hundreds of clubs across the country signing for Men United by raising money and awareness. In addition, Non-League Day will be working with a number of other agencies to promote important messages around anti-racism, grassroots participation and affordable local football.

James Doe, founder of Non-League Day said:  “We had a really positive chat with the people from Prostate Cancer UK and it was refreshing to see how they wanted to reach supporters and players at all levels of our national game.
 
“Prostate Cancer UK are fighting to help more men survive prostate cancer and enjoy a better quality of life. Money raised is used to provide information and fund research into a disease which kills 10,000 men a year in the UK, the equivalent of one every hour.
 
“We hope that non-league clubs and their supporters will also wish to adopt Prostate Cancer UK as a charity for the day and look forward to hearing from any who would like to host themed events or fundraising activities.”

For more information about Non-League Day 2014, and to find a match near you, please visit www.nonleagueday.co.uk.