Football club gets shirty to show holiday centre support

A local amateur football team is now displaying the logo of Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre on its home kit to raise awareness about the charity.

Mickleover Football Club’s first team is backing the charity, which provides seaside breaks to local children who might not otherwise get a holiday.

The idea came from club chairman Don Amott, who is also a patron of DCHC, along with former Derbyshire Lord Lieutenant Willie Tucker and Sir Henry Every.

Mickleover play in the Southern Premier Central League with a line-up including forward Marcus Barnes – brother of former Derby County player Giles Barnes – Finn Delap, son of former Rams midfielder Rory – and Ryan Wilson, whose father Kevin was also a striker for Derby in the 1980s.

Don said: “As a patron of the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre, I thought it would be a nice thing to do to get people more aware of what the charity does.”

Alan Grimadell, chairman of the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre, who has sponsored some of the Mickleover FC players, said: “I think it’s a brilliant gesture by Don Amott – one of our highly valued patrons – to have had these home shirts printed with our charity logo on them.

“It’s a great way of spreading the good word about our charity, which puts smiles on the faces of hundreds of children every year, who we are able to provide with a holiday by the sea.

“Children are nominated to come to our Skegness centre if they might not otherwise get a break, due to financial hardship or another reason.

“By including our logo on these football shirts, Don is doing a great job in spreading the word.”