Poole Town FC recently hosted Match Sponsors with a difference.  The club received a telephone contact from London asking if they needed to buy tickets for the game against Romsey in advance.  It turned out that a group of lads were planning a stag weekend in Bournemouth and were hoping to take in a game as part of the planned activities.  The question was asked if PTFC would consider letting the Groom be the Matchday Mascot, a package that usually costs £25 and includes entry for the parents, a free scarf and photo with Dylan the Dolphin!

It just grew from there and by the time the Matchday arrived, a group of 15 lads had travelled down to Tatnam to take in the match, arriving at the ground about 1.30pm.  The groom was in fancy dress, as a clown, and the rest of the party wore matching T-Shirts to mark the day.  Little did the groom know that at 2.45pm he would be leading the teams out and he was not even aware that the stag party were match sponsors.  He was drip fed information as time passed.  He was given a copy of the programme which carried a page about him and his bride to be and saw from the front cover that they were sponsoring the game.  At 2.30pm he was asked to come and get changed and the best man was also surprised at the same time, to be told that he would be dressing up as Dylan the Dolphin.  The two, hand in hand, lead the team out through a guard of honour from the remaining stags and big cheers from the home crowd.

The match resulted in an exciting 2-2 draw, with Poole coming back from a 2 goal deficit having already had their keeper and one other player sent off, and the whole event was thoroughly enjoyable.  The group also received a squad signed programme and as a surprise for the groom, the stag party all signed a Poole Town Shirt which will be framed with the programme and presented on the big day in October.  The group left having had what they described as an unbelieveable experience and claiming that Poole Town Football Club had some new fans.  They have said they will be in touch on the big day to check the score for announcing during the speeches.

From a Poole Town point of view, it was a Match Day Sponsorship like no other, but one that we would gladly repeat if the opportunity arises.

Matchday Sponsorship is usually £200 and includes 10 free tickets and a drink before and after the game for each guest, plus a page in the programme and PA announcements.  The package can be tailored to suit your individual needs.