Club nets new sponsorship deal

Photo: Phil Greig

Launch of the Cooperative Community sponsorship at St Gabriel's Primary School in Middleton, Rochdale. Rochdale players Brian Barry Murphy and Reece Gray coach children from the school as part of the Co-operative Multi Sports programme

1 More Image(s) In Gallery

Rochdale AFC was today celebrating a new sponsorship deal with The Co-operative.

From July 2013, The Co-operative will become the club’s Community Partner, replacing the previous two season kit sponsorship deal.

The Co-operative's association with Rochdale goes back to 1844 when the first Co-operative was formed in the Town. Through the new partnership, The Co-operative will now work with the Club on new initiatives in the local community to encourage, in particular, more children to get involved in sport and enjoy healthy lifestyles, a focus that fits well with the objectives of The Co-operative Group. The Co-operative Multi-sport Programme will offer free fun coaching sessions to all local primary schools from September 2013 onwards and there will also be opportunities for children who take part in the Programme to bring along their parents to Spotland to savour the experience of a league game firsthand.

Iain Johnstone, Sales and Marketing Manager for the club said: “We are delighted to be retaining our relationship with The Co-operative and to be able to develop our partnership to focus on children in the local community. Children are our next generation of fans and it is important for Rochdale Football Club, and indeed for football clubs around the country, to reach out and provide opportunities for children and their families to get involved in sport within the local community and develop their passion for the national game.”

Aileen Walters, Sponsorship Manager for The Co-operative added: “Our relationship with Rochdale Football Club is special. The town is a key trading for the whole of The Co-operative Group and is an area in which we have thousands of members, customers and colleagues.

“Developing our involvement with the Club’s community programme is a natural fit for our Co-operative businesses because it is extremely important for us to support areas in which we trade. I am delighted that we are about to begin this new chapter in our relationship with the club. We look forward to working with the Football Club to develop a truly innovative programme for the local community.”