Gillingham FC have teamed up with Medway Council to support local communities.
Medway Council and Gillingham Football Club (GFC) have entered into a partnership in this important anniversary year for both organisations, which will see Medway Council become the main official sponsor for the club for the year. The agreement, which is for one year, will benefit grassroots and professional sport in Medway and will be good for Medway as a whole.
The agreement will not involve any financial payment from Medway Council to GFC so there will not be any financial burden on local council tax payers.
As part of the deal, Medway Council will be making available to GFC three sports pitches in Medway that are currently unused which will enable a wide range of groups and teams linked to GFC to practice and play matches. GFC not only has an elite team which trains at Priestfield Stadium; the club is made up of a number of teams giving children and adults, including girls, women and those with a disability, the opportunity of playing football surrounded by professional players and coaches. The council supports grassroots sports and has offered the club the use of its greenspaces for the different teams to train, providing further opportunities for local people to get involved in sport.
These green spaces will be available to them during weekdays and weekends when they are not otherwise in use. At the moment they have minimal usage so this is a great way to bring them back into use and give local people much needed sports space close to home rather than having to travel to alternative sites or outside Medway.
The community sits at the heart of this agreement and as part of the partnership, the club will provide match day tickets for the 2018/19 season for the council to donate to some of the residents it supports, including looked after children. Together, the council and club are committed to continuing to provide opportunities and experiences for those living across Medway’s communities, in particular young people.
Under the agreement, the Priestfield Stadium will be known as the Medway Priestfield Stadium and the partnership will be promoted on the Gills’ home shirt for the 2018/19 season, both the first team and other teams under GFC control including the ladies and school of excellence teams. The council will also be given other promotional opportunities including pitchside advertising hoardings and a page in match day programmes. Medway Council’s logo will also be carried on the post match TV interview backdrops and on the GFC website.
Both Medway Council and GFC are committed to enhancing the lives of everyone living, working or learning in Medway, and indeed in seeing Medway, as a growing conurbation, develop its facilities whilst creating opportunities for its residents and businesses. We see this as an important relationship in helping improve the lives of people in Medway, giving more people access to sporting opportunities. We are also hugely proud of Medway and what we have to offer . We want local people to be proud of Medway and what the place has to offer as we seek to make Medway a great place to live, work, learn and visit.