From Lancashire Telegraph by Abigail Beaney, additional writing by Peter J Leatham
Ukrainian families and their hosts enjoyed a match at Accrington Stanley as well as being given Stanley shirts to mark the occasion.
The club gave away free tickets, in conjunction with Hyndburn Council and the Supporters’ Trust, to Ukrainian families housed locally, to offer them some normality after fleeing the war-torn country.
The group were at the August 9 Carabou Cup match against Tranmere Rovers, hosted by Trust board members Darren Woodhead and Supporters’ Chaplain, Debra Phillips; they were also joined by the host families as well as the Mayor and council leader.
A fundraiser was launched by Darren who, as well as being a Trust member, is also admin of the Accrington Stanley Memories Facebook group, to give all the guests free shirts.
The fundraiser has already reached over £500, with donations continuing to flood in.
To make a donation, please click on this link.
The Supporters’ Trust also gave all the visitors a small gift to mark the occasion.
The Mayor and council leader also joined the match, with the council having provided the tickets for the host families, as well as some refreshments.
Chairman of the Official Accrington Stanley Supporters’ Trust, Peter Leatham, said: “After all the difficulties and upheaval the families must have suffered of late we thought it would be nice to show some true East Lancashire hospitality and friendship and our football club was the ideal vehicle to do that.
After the match, the Supporters’ Trust received the following message:
Thankyou so much.
Our Ukrainian families loved the match last night.
I think Accrington Stanley have some new fans.
Very much appreciated.
Thankyou x