A move into online ticket sales helped a local football team to raise over £220 for charity – and it hopes to raise more by progressing through the rounds of the Emirates FA Cup.
Rusthall FC’s extra-preliminary round FA Cup game against Loxwood FC on August 1 was the first time the club had tried online ticket selling, the club’s head of communications Jamie Poole told the Times.
“Usually sales are via the turnstile on the day, and only a small proportion for this game – about 25 per cent – of tickets were bought online.”
With the club’s season tickets not valid for the FA Cup game, Rusthall FC experimented with online sales for the first time, and used the opportunity to donate part of the handling fee to charity.
At this point, a group of young girls – attracted to the club by the success of England’s Lionesses, joined up as ‘mascots’ to carry out a match-day collection, boosting the total to over £220 for children’s hospice charity Demelza.
Demelza provides clinical care, therapies, specialised activities and practical support for children across Kent, southeast London and East Sussex.
“The girls were keen to get involved in the football club when they saw what the Lionesses were doing,” Jamie said.
“Their parents enquired about it in the buildup (to the England women’s win) and it was all quite spontaneous, really.
“We would like to have an all-girl youth team,” he added.
Rusthall FC went on to win its match against Loxwood 3-2 and will face Ramsgate FC in the preliminary round of the FA Cup this Saturday (August 20) – again at the local club’s Jockey Farm Stadium.
