Cash scheme just the ticket for fans
An online scheme where Scottish football fans buy tickets for matches they won’t watch has raised more than £50,000 for cash-strapped clubs.
The Donate A Ticket campaign was launched after the country went into lockdown to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
Founder Ruaridh Kilgour teamed up with colleague Liam Darling, a graphic designer, to develop a not-for-proift site where clubs can sign up for free and benefit.
Fans log on and can choose to pay the price of a match ticket or donate a bigger or smaller sum depending on their circumstances.
Valuable payments are made to clubs every Wednesday and there are plans for a Scottish Cup-style competition to launch in mid-May.
Yesterday (Tuesday), a total of £54,397 in donations had been received for 83 clubs.
Raith Rovers topped the leaderboard with £8,388 generated from tickets sold while Stirling Albion were 36th in the standings having collected £503.
The Binos had already launched their own fundraiser alongside the supporters’ trust which has brought in more than £30,000to date.
Ruaridh, 28, is a Raith fan from Edinburgh and owns a social media marketing business in the sports gambling industry.
He said: “Donate A Ticket sees fans donate the value of a match ticket for each of the remaining matches of the season; money a supporter would have been willing to spend anyway had the games gone ahead.
“I spoke to Liam and he has done a fantastic job turning the concept into a reality, accommodating not just Raith but 83 different football clubs.
“The donations leaderboard, which competes clubs against each other on ticket donations, has been excellent in creating competition between supporters and giving clubs a narrative to promote the platform.”
Just six SPFL clubs, including Stirling Albion, have signed up so far but non-league teams from across the nation have jumped aboard and benefiting from hundreds of pounds in donations.
“I hadn’t considered the leagues below the SPFL and it was Berwick Rangers who were the first to get in touch,” Ruaridh said.
“From there, it snowballed through the Lowland League and the East of Scotland League clubs then the Junior clubs got involved.
“It is fantastic this has been able to help so many teams throughout the Scottish football pyramid.”
Clubs receive a payment every Wednesday and Ruaridh was told that in some cases, it is lifeline funding.
He said: “I spoke to someone at a West Region Junior club and he was telling me the significance of this money for clubs at their level.
“Their last gate income was in January and in one match it was £38. Even £200 for one of these clubs is going to take a massive difference.”
The focus will soon turn to the Donate A Ticket Scottish Cup which will run during May and June.
Former Sky Sports presenter David Tanner will carry out the draw while sports clothing firm Football Nation will provide sponsorship and voucher prizes.
Ruaridh explained: “Thirty-two clubs will go into the Scottish Cup and they will be drawn against each other in a head-to-head knockout tournament.
“Clubs will compete against each other for 48 hours to see who can sell the most tickets. Within that, there are raffles for people making the donations and they can win prizes.
“It will run for five weeks from the middle of May into June and it’s just another way to keep going throughout those months and make it a little bit more exciting and competitive against each other.”
For more information on the Donate A Ticket scheme, visit donateaticket. com.