A FOOTBALL club has become the first in the country topromote gas safety through sport.
Towngate FC unveiled their new kit, sponsored by the Gas Safe Charity, at the Huddersfield FA Sunday Challenge Cup Final on Sunday.
And they will wear it next season in a bid to promote awareness of the charity, which aims to make people understand the dangers of gas.
It is hoped that the new initiative will be a real boost to the campaigning efforts of local mum Stacey Rodgers, who lost her young son Dominic to carbon monoxide poisoning at their Fartown home.
The 10-year-old died in February 2004 when fumes from a neighbour’s boiler seeped into the bedroom of his home in Spaines Road.
Since then Stacey has been tirelessly campaigning to raise awareness about the silent killer carbon monoxide and has founded the Dominic Rodgers Trust.
Towngate – who celebrated their new kit with a 3-2 victory over Huddersfield Irish centre in the final – now plan to visit schools promoting carbon monoxide awareness.
They will also hand out information about Gas Safe Register and gas safety at weekends to other football teams they play as well as the supporters that attend.
Morris Simpson, who is vice president of the Trust and manager of Towngate FC, said: “We hope that having our kits sponsored by the Gas Safe Charity will complement the great work Stacey Rodgers has already done.
“Being a close friend to Stacey I have seen the amount of effort she has contributed to make the world a safer place and she continues to do some amazing work with the gas industry.”
The football team has just received funding for the team kit, with their tracksuits and kits bearing the Gas Safe Charity logo.
Morris said: “It’s been a long process from applying to the charity for funding to receiving the kits but it has been worthwhile.
“We are now able to promote gas safety through sport and we feel privileged to be the first sports club in the UK to be awarded a brand licence which allows us to print the Gas Safety Charity logo on our kits.
“This then engages the public to ask questions about the charity and Gas Safe Register, which in turn allows the team to reply with knowledgeable answers about gas safety.”
Paul White, a trustee of the Gas Safe Charity, said he liked the innovation of the team’s application.
He said: “When the charity first received the application we thought it was a great idea and liked the innovation behind the application using sport in this way to raise awareness.
“This is something new and different for the charity and we are very hopeful that this might be the first of many sports clubs to be awarded funding to help us raise awareness.
“We wish Towngate FC all the best of luck and hope this project is a success”.
