Football League Campaign Reveals Global Fan Base of the Gills
Gillingham fan Ashley Darley from Canberra in Australia is one of 72 overseas supporters that is in with a chance of winning a trip to the UK to see their team play, after being shortlisted to win The Football League’s ‘Stand Up & Be Counted’ campaign.
The overall winner from the 72 shortlisted fans will be announced on Saturday evening’s ‘Football On 5’ highlights programme on Channel 5 from 9pm, with that fan then being given the incredible opportunity to fly over and watch us in action later this season.
The campaign asked overseas fans to register the team they support along with their country and city of residence, with the results then displayed on each club’s own map of the world at www.representyourclub.com.
A total of over 52,000 supporters from around the globe took part in the initiative, with at least one fan registered in all 247 of the different territories. The country with the most fans registered was Australia, with a total of 8,667 fans standing up to be counted for their Football League club.
The results of the campaign showed that Gillingham as a club boasted 210 overseas supporters, with the country with the most overseas Gills fans being Australia.
As a prize for making the shortlist, Ashley, who lives 10,000 miles away from the club, will be offered one month’s free access to our Gills PlayerHD service, which enables fans to listen to live match commentary of our games wherever they are in the world.
“Football League clubs have always been right at the heart of their local communities but it’s quite incredible that there are also fans of our clubs in every country in the world. It’s great to see the level of passion there is for The Football League around the globe and we are delighted to offer the opportunity for fans abroad to come and see their team live as a reward for the support they show their respective clubs.”Commenting on the campaign, Shaun Harvey, Chief Executive of The Football League said:
Topping the list of clubs with the most fans registered as part of the campaign was League 2 Notts County. Their total of 6,359 was primarily down to the unique support they have from the ‘Italian Magpies’ supporters group – established because of the club’s connection to Italian giants Juventus.
To see the full rankings supporters can visit www.representyourclub.com.
Fans who missed out on being shortlisted for the prize to fly to the UK still don’t have to miss out on any of the action with our Gills PlayerHD service offering live match commentary of every game. In addition, Football League matches and highlights are broadcast in up to 167 territories around the world every week throughout the season.