Shrewsbury Town’s second Annual Armed Forces Match Day, at home against Colchester United

Shrewsbury Town Football Club (STFC), partners of the Shropshire Armed Forces Community Covenant, are giving their support by hosting their second annual Armed Forces Match Day, to raise awareness to STFC fans.

The event will take place on Saturday 10 October 2015 at the Shrewsbury Town home game against Colchester United at the Meadow.

Beginning at 1pm, the Armed Forces will be hosting a ‘fan park’ outside the stadium to all members of the community – including those without match tickets.

The ‘fan park’ will include activities such as a mobile climbing wall, a static helicopter tour, laser pigeon shooting, military arsenal display and tours of the latest military vehicles, all free of charge.

It is a fantastic opportunity to meet service personnel, both regular and reservists, and a fun way to gain an understanding of what they do, both home and abroad.

For young people who are interested in joining the Forces or learning more information on the fun activities they can get involved in, the Army and Air Cadets will be available for a chat.

STFC have kindly donated 500 free tickets to the match for Armed Forces personnel and their families to attend.

The second part of the day begins once people with tickets enter the stadium ready for the 3pm kick off, where the entertainment will continue for the fans.

Weather permitting, RAF Shawbury will be delivering the match ball straight into the stadium via helicopter in what will be an amazing demonstration of precision and skill from the Royal Air Force.

At half time the show continues with a military band performing on the pitch to entertain the fans while they wait for the second half to begin.

Tim Barker, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member responsible for the Shropshire Armed Forces Community Covenant said:

“The Armed Forces Community Covenant gives us an important method for our military to communicate with the public and local businesses. The fan park will allow people to meet our Armed Forces and gain a better understanding of what they, including reservists, do, while enjoying many exciting activities.

“Shrewsbury Town are great ambassadors of the Covenant, as are many other local businesses.”

Jamie Edwards, Shrewsbury Town in the Community manager, said:

“Shrewsbury Town FC pride ourselves on the relationship we have formed with the Armed Forces. Our annual Matchday to raise awareness of the Forces is a great way to engage with the numerous units within Shropshire and beyond.

“We continue to be committed to the Community Covenant and hope the partnership continues to grow in the future.”

On Thursday 8 October, the Armed Forces and STFC – including players and physio, Chris Skitt – are joining together at Nesscliffe Barracks for a media day.

The event includes the ‘Exercise Reserve Challenge’, part of which is an assault course that Chris Skitt will be taking part in, which will test him physically and challenge his leadership skills.

The Media Day has been created by the Armed Forces to show the STFC players and manager what the Reserves Challenge is about, and giving everyone an insight into the daily challenges of the Reserves.

Lt Col Richard Jones, 11 Signal and West Midlands Brigade, said:

“We are delighted that STFC have once again invited the Military to join them at their match day on 10 October, and we look forward to using the match day to increase recognition and awareness of the regular and reserve forces in the Shropshire area.

“We have invited a number of the STFC staff to join us on Ex Reserve Challenge on Thursday 8 October. The Exercise is designed to provide an exciting and competitive leadership event, and a framework in which to encourage team leaders, managers and executives from businesses in the West Midlands area to be informed and educated about the Reserves; these individuals are either ‘high value’ potential recruits or the future gate keepers for Army reserve recruiting.”

For more information on the Shropshire Armed Forces Community Covenant, see http://shropshire.gov.uk/armed-forces-community-covenant/.