A team of young Leicestershire footballers will be proudly displaying their new kit this autumn – thanks to a sponsorship deal with fire detection and life safety specialist CDS.
The Fleckney Athletic under 11s’ nifty footwork is sure to be enhanced by the new shirts which are emblazoned with the CDS logo.
The stylish tops are part of a two-year deal with the Narborough-based business which has been helping staff and visitors to councils, 999 services, universities, schools, hospitals and health centres across the East Midlands stay safe for more than 30 years.
The agreement also sees CDS fund new equipment such as balls, cones and annual player awards, and helps pay for camps and tournaments.
The inspiration for the sponsorship came from CDS sales manager Paul Flude, whose sons play for two of the Fleckney Athletic teams – one in the under 11s. Indeed, Paul himself is now a coach for the under 9s team and has completed his level 1 coaching with Harborough Town FC, which also includes first aid training and safeguarding for children.
“My boys have been playing with Fleckney Athletic since they were six. That’s when I decided I’d love to get involved. I used to play rugby but I’ve now broadened my experience and took an FA coaching course. As well as helping my sons I hope I’ve been useful in enabling plenty of other children to hone their skills on the football field.
“I wanted to do more to help the team – and thought that encouraging CDS to sponsor their new kit was a practical way of encouraging the youngsters. In these days of so many children spending huge amounts of time playing on computers and watching TV it’s great to encourage some good old-fashioned physical activity. This not only gets them moving, but also gets them into the great outdoors. It’s good for their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. And that’s something we definitely want to encourage.
“The club has been amazing for the children. Both my kids have been flag bearers for Leicester City Football Club and the whole under 9s team walked out with the LCFC squad. These are great memories for the team.
“The nature of our company is to keep people safe. Well, safety doesn’t just mean protecting people from bad things, like fires. It also means taking positive, proactive steps towards ensuring people are as fit and well as they can be. So we hope our small contribution will play a part in helping achieve this goal.”
