Category: Press Releases

Fanzone – Have Your Say In Next Season’s Matchday Programme

Leave a comment

PNE v Birmingham (06-05-07) Fan Photos

As we strive to make next season’s matchday programme bigger and better than the last we have opened up an opportunity for you the fans to have a big input into the publication.

This year’s programme will have the usual exclusive interviews, features, photo-stories and player profiles but we have also reserved quite a bit of space for a feature we are calling Fanzone.

It’s a pretty self-explanatory concept, the fans basically have carte blanche to fill three pages every week in the programme.

The kind of things we are looking for are the usual standard stuff, for example we will be running a piece called Dream Team, where you pick a favourite 11 players, favourite kit, favourite manager, favourite games and goals from history etc.

We are also looking for North End related stories either from the past or present, for example if we are playing Sheffield Wednesday you may have a particularly good story to tell of a previous game against the Owls.

We are also putting aside some space for fans photographs. So many of you take photographs at games these days and it seems such a shame to see them confined to photo-libraries on internet sites, send us your best ones each week and we will publish them in the programme.

We will also be following the progress of PNE-Online FC, they are a fans team who have done remarkably well in their first season of competition so far and hopefully next season will be just as good.

Basically this is your platform, you can send us absolutely anything at all and if it is good and we have got the space we will use it. Questions, queries, messages for particular players or even the boss, absolutely everything will be considered.

Reading the fans forum we know that there is absolutely loads of talented writers, photographers and designers out there and this is your opportunity to see some of that work in print.

If you have photos or stories which may be ready for print then you can email us at editor@pne.com. We are also looking for ideas or suggestions, not only for the Fanzone piece but the match programme, the website and our media output in general. Let us know what you want and we will endeavour to deliver it.

Many Thanks

Matt Morris and Becky Ashton

PNE MEDIA

Press Release – Footballs For Schools

Leave a comment

Preston North End Set To Launch Second Phase Of Mini Whites Initiative – Footballs For Schools

Following on from last season’s flagship success of Preston North End’s Mini Whites scheme, the club are now set to launch phase two, ‘Footballs For Schools’.

The Mini Whites initiative which saw thousands of under eights attend PNE games last season absolutely free was an unqualified success, the scheme had almost 1000 members in its first full season and 69 per cent of youngsters no longer eligible for the scheme this season graduated to junior season ticket holders.

The thinking behind the Mini Whites is to get local fans supporting their local club and that is a process which has now been adopted by the Football League with the game’s authorities encouraging all clubs in the Football League to allow kids into games for free.

Following on from last season’s groundbreaking success Preston North End are now taking the scheme one step further by giving out thousands of free Preston North End footballs to Primary schools in the local area.

As part of the Club’s Deepdale Duck Roadshow, Preston North End will be giving five PNE branded Mitre footballs to the 300 Primary schools in the area. Not only that, but if and when the balls are worn out, Preston North End will replace them free of charge!

The Deepdale Duck Roadshow took the Preston North End message to almost 40,000 young fans last season and it aims to repeat that this season. This year the scheme has been sponsored by Total and it promises to be bigger and better.

Not only will North End be giving out the footballs to all schools but all children in attendance will receive a goody bag which includes Preston North End wristbands, posters, fun books and car stickers.

The scheme will be launched this coming Monday 5th December at Preston’s Holme Slack Primary School where Preston North End captain Chris Lucketti and winger Chris Sedgwick will giving out the first set of footballs to the youngsters while the Deepdale Duck will also be performing his Roadshow.

Football League Chairman Lord Mawhinney said: “Preston North End have been hugely influential in the development of our Fans of the Future initiative, their Mini-Whites scheme helped set the template for clubs across The Football League to follow.

“I know that their scheme has been tremendously successful in encouraging more and more young fans to watch games at Deepdale and I hope that other clubs enjoy similar results.”

Preston North End’s Community Development Manager Andrea Troake said: “The success of the Deepdale Duck Roadshow and the Mini Whites scheme last season exceeded expectations, with 69% of graduates of the scheme purchasing season tickets.

“This season we wanted to reward the schools for their help in promoting the scheme and allowing the Deepdale Duck Roadshow into their schools yet again. By giving each school five PNE branded Mitre footballs it is hoped that the pupils will take an interest in physical activity as well as Preston North End FC.

“Already attendances this season have shown an increase on previous seasons and we hope this continues as more children join the Mini Whites following a visit by Deepdale Duck to their school.”

Ends

Chris Lucketti, Chris Sedgwick and Andrea Troake will all be available for interview at Holme Slack Primary School, Manor House Lane, Preston, PR1 6HP from 2.00pm on Monday 5th December. Photo opportunities with the players, Deepdale Duck and the PNE branded balls will also be available.

For more information contact the Press Office on 0870 442 1964; by fax on 01772 693366 or by email media@pne.com

Editors Notes

  • Number of expired mini whites (children registered under the mini whites scheme, not necessarily mini whites season ticket holders) 118. Number of expired mini whites who are now registered as junior season ticket holders 82. This equates to a massive 68.88% of new paying junior season ticket holders through the mini whites scheme.
  • In only 10 months the `Mini Whites’ scheme saw the club’s number of registrations under the age of 8 grow from 86 to 948 – with approximately 80% attending matches on a regular basis.
  • 69% of youngsters who have graduated from the scheme went on to buy a season ticket.
  • The Mini-Whites scheme is free to join and once a member children can attend all home league games for free by either getting tickets on a match by match basis or by getting a season ticket at the start of the season.
  • Being a member of the Mini Whites scheme saves the child up to £6.50 on a match by match ticket or £125 on a season ticket. This is available for as many children in the family as are eligible. Therefore a family with 3 children under 8 years will save £375 per season.
  • Total’s sponsorship of the Deepdale Duck Roadshow is one of a number of partnerships involving Preston North End including work with the Playing For Success scheme and also sponsoring the Club’s Community Stand.