To non-league football teams, having the right backers can mean all the difference moving into the next season. Sponsoring a football team is a beneficial relationship for both sides, the sponsor receives extra coverage and develops their brand identity at the same time as funding the endeavours of the squad. For teams that do not receive the same limelight as the big Premier League names, receiving a high profile sponsor has the potential to make a greater impact on the performance of the players, in addition to attracting the attention of a wider audience.
West Didsbury and Chorlton AFC have welcomed the news that local estate agent Belvoir has decided to sponsor the club’s kit, starting with the 2015/16 season. This will come as good news for local supporters including Manchester based property developer Harry Dhaliwal, as the recent success of the club at the close of the last season will surely continue backed with sponsorship money from such a large firm. West has risen through the amateur football leagues rapidly and now sits firmly in the Premier Division of the North West Counties Football League (NWCFL), with eyes on yet bigger achievements including entry into the FA Cup.
Belvoir has offices in 150 locations around the country, with the South Manchester and City Centre franchises putting money forward to help the team. The Chairman of West has stated that garnering the support from the lettings agents just proves that the club is getting things right both on and off the pitch. Attracting as large a sponsor as Belvoir has acted as almost a form of approval that although it might be an amateur team now, West Didsbury and Chorlton AFC are set for bigger things.
As a team, West Didsbury and Chorlton AFC is barely recognisable from that first team put together by Sunday School Superintendent RF Hartley back in 1908. After a rollercoaster history that spanned two World Wars, a name change, several league changes that were common during the formative years of the FA as it is known today, West has emerged as a strong team that is holding its own against some of the NWCFL’s longest serving amateur clubs.
Now the West Didsbury and Chorlton AFC youth development programmes are in full swing, providing a valuable service to the local community and with the improvements of its spectator area developed in 2013, it is no surprise that the club has drawn the attention of Belvoir to sponsor its kit.
Harry Dhaliwal 