New G is for Gas blog- A club who would have me as a member

G is for Gas


A club who would have me as a member

by Martin Bull

This week I would like to introduce the Fan's Forum Sponsor Club (FFSC) to any Gashead who doesn’t yet know about them. This innovative idea was set up in early 2013 by Jon Thorne, and promoted to Gasheads on the BRFC Fan‘s Forum. It has managed to ride the tidal waves of relegation, and emerged even stronger as a simple club for Gasheads who want to trade in positivity, not negativity. In fact I would go so far as to say that it should never be forgotten that when BRFC were at their depths, and not many people wanted to sponsor players or matches in non-league, the FFSC filled an incredibly important gap.

The idea is simple. Members pay just £10 per season, with all proceeds going to support Bristol Rovers. Members not only get a warm fuzzy feeling inside for supporting their club in a fresh way, but also have a statistically excellent chance of winning various ‘prizes’ given away throughout the season. Since January 2013 it has raised over £13,500 for the club, including paying for the kit sponsorship of 26 players, predominantly youngsters, sponsorship of four first team games, and being a member of the BRFC 1883 Shirt Sponsorship Draw.

The FFSC aims to:

• Encourage unity and positivity;
  
• Raise funds for the football club we all love;
• Sponsor players who may not normally attract a sponsor;
• Sponsor home games, plus if possible some youth team games;
• Offer members reduced prices for selected match hospitality;
• Meet up with other like-minded Gasheads, and
• Last but not least, give away prizes to members, including match worn shirts of players who’ve been sponsored and free hospitality places.
  

Can you imagine how a young player must feel when they read the match day programme and see that nearly all the better known players have been sponsored by various businesses and individuals, but they haven’t? And can you now imagine how cherished they must feel when informed that a fans club has decided to sponsor them? That for me is the unique selling point of the FFSC.

I don’t feel that the club is competing with the Supporter’s Club because that club has a clearly defined role as a service provider and also has a representational / advocacy role within BRFC. It is also not trying to compete with the excellent work of the Community Department, or any other initiatives.

It is just a group of honest individuals who have no hidden agenda and who want to support the club in a slightly different way to what is already out there and working well.

Joining the Fan's Forum Sponsor Club is simple. Payment can be sent to their PayPal Account (bristolroversffsc@yahoo.co.uk), paid direct into a dedicated FFSC Bank account, or paid in cash by meeting one of the volunteers at a game. Full details can be found on various Rovers online forums, including www.gaschat.co.uk and www.gasheads.org

Membership costs just £10 a season, but there is no limit on multiple memberships if you want a higher chance of winning any give-aways.

Groucho Marx famously wrote that he wouldn’t want to belong to any club who would have him as a member, and whilst I would generally subscribe to that maxim, I am honoured to make an exception to the rule and to be one of the early members of one of the best clubs in the world.

Have you joined yet?

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Martin Bull became a Gashead in 1989 and immediately fell in love with Twerton Park, standing near G pillar. In 2006 he wrote, photographed and published the first independent book about the artist Banksy. Having been exiled for much of his past, away games have always been special for him; so much so that with 40 other fans has published a new book about them - www.awaythegas.org.uk