Youngsters cheer on their heroes
Hundreds of primary and secondary school children enjoyed Hamilton Accies’cup final victory over Raith Rovers on Sunday.
They went along due to a ticketing initiative being offered in schools during a drugs talks programme run by the club.
The youngsters attended the thrilling 1-0 victory courtesy of the club’s commercial director Colin Mcgowan and head of their Elite Youth Academy George Cairns, who were keen to get as many young travelling supporters along as possible.
A total of 514 youngsters watched John Rankin’s side lift the SPFL Trust Trophy.
The kids were part of a 5566-strong crowd – of which over 2000 were Hamilton supporters who lapped up the celebrations.
Cairns said:“it was amazing to see the kids from our local area take in our momentous cup win and really enjoy the football and the day as a whole. That’s what it’s all about.
“We hope to see as many of those faces back at the ZLX Stadium and indeed our away games if they can, to get right behind the team and give the players a real lift going into the last few games of our season.”
He added:“this new generation of Hamilton supporters has been generated thanks to the tremendous work being done at the club, in particular that of Colin Mcgowan and Colin Mcnair and the free season book/ticket initiative they have taken around schools and colleges during their important‘talking Drugs’programme.
“To date, they have spoken to over 8000 pupils about the dangers of addiction, and the good news is this initiative is going to carry on for another year, enabling them to reach out to even more youths in the area.”
Mcgowan and former player Colin Mcnair have travelled the country in recent years speaking to youths and staff at corporate companies about addiction and its dangers, which will continue over the coming year.