Alex Brooker backs The National Lottery’s Football Weekends campaign
The public should be more aware of the vital community work carried out by local and non-league football clubs, the journalist, presenter and comedian Alex Brooker has said.
On a visit to York FC, the 37-year-old best-known for his exploits on TV shows such as Channel 4’s The Last Leg, met school children at a coaching session. He also learned about the club’s Sporting Memories programme which helps older people come together and talk about their sporting memories while tackling isolation and loneliness.
Alex, a devoted Arsenal fan, said, “I'm one of those people who didn't know just how much work non-league and community clubs do, to be honest with you. I've done work with the Arsenal Foundation, and they ran the amputee football team that I played at for a number of years, but it's important we don't forget the non-league and local football clubs.
"They do amazing work in their communities as well, but without the budgets, and that is a big part of it.”
Alex’s appreciation for the work local and non-league clubs do off the pitch is behind his decision to team up with The National Lottery Football Weekends campaign.
The initiative is a celebration of local football clubs and the communities they serve across the 4 home nations. Alex is keen to promote the fact that more than 100,000 tickets to selected non-league and local football club matches in March and April 2022 are being made available to National Lottery players on a ‘Buy One Get One Free’ basis.
The National Lottery Football Weekends campaign is our way of saying ‘thank you’ for the more than £12.5Million of emergency funding which helped these community clubs survive during the pandemic.
Alex said, “The support from The National Lottery has been amazing for non-league and local football clubs. It is sort of what The National Lottery is all about, exactly what I've seen today.
"Without this funding, a lot of the programmes here wouldn't work, and it would be a desperate shame to lose them. A lot of people would have lost a big lifeline during the pandemic if it wasn’t for The National Lottery. It has just reminded me how important it is that we support these things and that there is life beyond the Premier League in football.”
To get more details about The National Lottery Football Weekends and to find a club near you, visit www.thenationallotteryfootballweekends.co.uk. Each club will be responsible for distributing tickets for its home match and details on how to claim will be available from each club. Terms and conditions apply.
Find out more about the importance of The National Lottery Football Weekends campaign by watching the video below.
24th March 2022
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