By John Sinclair
A football league has expressed gratitude to three top businesses for fresh sponsorship in the wake of a tough pandemic period.
The South Challenge Cup has attracted the funding of three key businesses championing regional football. After weathering a difficult pandemic, the league needs renewed finance more than ever.
The first large firm to promise its backing is the radiator giant Trade Radiators. Nic Auckland, director of well-known Glasgow-based radiator supplier, said: “We are delighted to sponsor the Cup and show our commitment to local football.
“Sport brings people from different backgrounds and with different abilities together and is an important part of our national heritage.”
Ally McCoist, a Rangers legend, stated in The Telegraph: “Champions League is great – but nothing beats being insulted by an old man in Hamilton.”
McCoist spoke highly of the role of the lower leagues in sustaining football in its most basic expression. Those fans who attend the Cumbernauld Colts match against the University of Stirling in the rain are football supporters at their purest.
Richard Osbourne, the spokesman for the league, stated: “It has been a pleasure to secure sponsors from Scottish businesses for this year’s Cup. “It is an honor to accept their sponsorship, and we greatly appreciate their support for the Cup and all its teams.”
Junior football is in a flurry now that supporters may again congregate. The teams packed in a lot of training for this new campaign, and the new sponsorship will give the league an extra lift.
New financial backing helps many aspects of Scottish grassroots football and the broader community. The new money helps guarantee that the competition continues to prosper and develop to better the very communities where the games are contested.
Sponsorship is vital in modern-day football, and nowhere more so than in the grassroots leagues, which naturally do not receive royalties from broadcasters. The level of funding in the lower leagues is much less than in the top leagues because the corporate sector does not have such a strong foothold.
The South Challenge Cup, now in its 15th year, excites Scotland with gripping fixtures showcasing some of the finest players in grassroots football. In the 2021/22 campaign, 20 extra teams will join, taking the overall number of sides to 162.
This latest expansion in the league may explain why emerging sponsors are ready to champion the teams.
A prestigious digital marketing consultancy is forging a relationship with the leagues to fuel further expansion and help the players recover from a difficult time.
Glasgow-based Boyd Digital confirmed its support for the competition this week. Boyd Digital is an expert, market-leading digital marketing firm in Scotland. Grant Ruxton, lifelong football devotee, and Boyd Digital chief executive said:
“We are delighted to be able to support the Cup. It’s great to see more teams taking part than ever before.
“It’s already an exciting year for the Cup and all the teams involved. As much as I am a football fan, I think there is another aspect to the sponsorship that is worth mentioning. Many local teams are a very important part of the community.
People in rural areas often gather for matches, and teams are often involved in charity work.
“I don’t think my responsibility as a businessman stops at my office door. As a business, we need to help communities and good causes.”
In the 2018/19 campaign, East Kilbride thrashed Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic 2-1 after the current champions, Civil Service Strollers, were eliminated in the dying minutes by BSC Glasgow.
Another intriguing supporter of Scottish football has entered the fray in the shape of Club Snoods. Club Snoods is a hugely popular retailer of fashionable and bespoke snoods, including football-themed snoods. The business has amassed a huge following thanks to its original styles and success in supplying snoods in the thick of a challenging period for the Scottish Football League system.
Indeed, Bonnyrigg Rose hammered Cumbernauld Colts at New Dundas Park by a staggering five goals to nil. The encounter kicked off pretty level, with both teams fielding an interesting side.
But it soon became obvious that Bonnyrigg was keen to smash it. The crowd went wild after the fourth goal, but nobody anticipated the fifth goal, which came out of the blue and threw the home fans into a further frenzy.
After the match, supporters were delighted that new sponsors had joined the league.
David Stewart, a Bonnyrigg supporter, said, “That was fantastic football in action. I was absolutely delighted. People don’t realize what they are missing by not coming to a game of their local team.
“There was no sign of the Cumbernauld Colts defense, and I’m not sure they even turned up for the game.
“The lower leagues allow us to experience fantastic football up close. Without sponsorship, we wouldn’t be able to do as many activities as we would like to do.”
With various clubs already causing a buzz in the fourth stage of the 2021/22 season, it’s a tense contest, particularly as reigning champions Dunipace crashed out in the second round to Sauchie Juniors back in October.