Stockport County Supporters Co-operative

v Hereford

SCAN SCHEME LAUNCHED

The launch of the Stockport County Appearance Number (SCAN) Scheme - what an evening it was! Over 100 guests, 29 volunteers, 45 SCAN Certificates presented and 321 County supporters in attendance.

The entire current squad of players gave up the early part of their Saturday evening - to a man. Thanks lads, we know that your Saturday evenings are precious. A special mention to Paul Turnbull (County’s youngest debutant) who stayed to present George Haigh (County’s oldest surviving player) with his certificate. Very fitting and a great climax to the evening. Another highlight was Peter Ward leading a chorus of the anthem.

Someone described the SCAN Scheme as train-spotting for County fans. We looked it up and it means “person who is obsessed with trivia or minority subjects or hobbies”. When compared with the giant clubs who graze on the rich pastures of the Premiership, County may be seen as trivial, or a minority, but they’ve got it all wrong. It’s clubs like County, who, are a vital part of the local community, that are important, not the play-things of multi-billionaires. So, call us train-spotters! Real fans, real football.

Today, supporters will present Wes Fletcher, Cameron Darkwah and Jordon Rose with their SCAN certificates. For a minimum donation of £10, you could make a future presentation. Go to the Club’s website and register via the SCAN Scheme pages in the Fans area of the site. The 45 supporters who made presentations on Saturday already have their pictures on the website - forever!

It’s impossible to thank everyone individually in this short column, but we are very proud that the various supporters groups came together to make the SCAN scheme launch event such a success.

One supporter commented that such events help him encourage his kids to be County fans rather than submit to the constant premiership media barrage. Following County couldn’t be more different to following a big club could it? We know which is better, so shout it from the rooftops. Can you imagine the sort of conversations that the County Juniors who presented SCAN Certificates have been having at school?

Following a big club is fine if you like watching television, but what we do is far more intense and certainly not for the faint-hearted. Tell people to come try it for themselves. Once they are bitten by the bug, they will keep coming back.

If we are to deliver things such as the SCAN scheme, we need a dedicated Board and as many active members as possible. We also need a sponsor for the scheme, so please get in touch.

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