Shire launch 1880 Black and White survival fund

East Stirlingshire have launched a crowdfunder to replenish the club’s finances stripped bare by the coronavirus closure of football.
Shire hope to raise £10,000.Shire hope to raise £10,000.
Shire hope to raise £10,000.

The Shire have enough funds to see them through to the end of the season while maintaining player wages in their entirety – but that will require use of the club’s funds, and potentially short for next season.

That led Ian Fleming to kick-start a crowdfunding appeal which is already ten per cent to target after just five days.

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He explained: “When all this broke we had players phoning us – we are a part-time club but a lot of our players do rely on this cash - a lot of our boys are self-employed or students and this can be their income.

“We had to make a decision to give them, and the families, peace of mind to commit to their contracts.

“That will hit us financially and take away what we have – so we thought a crowdfunder like some other teams - might help recover some of the money and fill a few holes that might be left. Like every other club there’s zero coming in.”

Shire are hoping their unique place in football - where Sir Alex Ferguson began his managerial career, infamous by the book ‘Poinless’ and a frequent favourite for Football Manager fans to take through the leagues - might coax some cash from far-flung fans wth a soft spot for the club. Stirling Albion have already successfully raised thousands.

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Players and staff have offered to drop their wages to help but Ian added: “It was nice of them but we asked them to hold off. Now if they wish they can donate to the crowdfunder - anonymously if they wish - it is perhaps fairer on those who maybe can’t afford to do that.”

The current crisis of course puts a question mark on next season for many clubs and Shire are no exception.

“There’s no guarantees about next season and that’ll be the case for clubs bigger than ours as well. Like always we’ll see what sponsorship we can raise and take it from there.”

To donate a sum, large or small, to the Shire’s crowdfunder, visit https://bit.ly/2w7kxgi or scan the QR code (left) on a smartphone.