Christmas at home the prize for expat Larne FC fans in club competition
WHILE most Irish League football clubs will be organising Christmas raffles for supporters, Larne FC are pushing the boat out a lot further.
The ambitious Co Antrim outfit will be flying two people home for Christmas from anywhere in the world as the star prize in their Bring Them Home competition — the only catch being the winners must have the town of Larne in their blood.
The scheme is the brainchild of forward-thinking commercial manager Gavin Clements and is the next step in the club’s Aspire to Inspire five-year plan aimed at putting the Inver Park club at the heart of the local community.
“These are exciting times,” Gavin (right) told the Belfast Telegraph.
“With this competition we wanted to try someSport thing different. Something that gets people from Larne talking and people from Larne who may live across the world talking.”
Gavin admitted the competition was his own idea, stemming from the reaction to a campaign ahead of last season’s Irish Cup quarter-final against Ballymena United.
“We asked people to send us selfies ahead of that game and we were amazed to see them come in from all across the world,” he said.
“We found we had people following the fortunes of the club in places like Canada, Spain, Brazil, India. There are supporters out there and we wanted to give something back that would mean a lot to the community.”
The club was taken over by online property giant Purplebricks owner Kenny Bruce last year and currently sits undefeated and top of
the Bluefin Championship with promotion back to the Premiership a distinct possibility.
“We made commitments last year and we’ve kept them,” said Gavin. “And we intend to keep doing that both on the pitch and off.
“We are at the beginning of our journey and it promises to make this experience more advanced than anything seen before in domestic football in Northern Ireland. This competition is all part of realising that.
“We’ve already had a few people who live abroad contacting their relatives here and asking them to enter and we’re delighted at how far this competition is reaching.”
To enter the Bring Them Home competition a friend or family member must be living in the Larne area and demonstrate their Larne DNA. They’ll also receive four VIP hospitality tickets for the match against Ballyclare Comrades on Boxing Day.
Visit www.larnefc.com and follow the instructions.