Fundraising Game Called Off

 The charity match which was due to take place this Sunday has been called off after disappointing ticket sales. After several meetings and phone calls it has been decided to pull the plug the on the event. However it is hoped it will go ahead at a later date.

The last charity match saw over 14,000 people come through the gates and boost the club's coffers with a much needed £130,000. This time around only seventy tickets have been sold and it is felt the atmosphere around the club is not right for another fundraiser at the present time.

Speaking to the Northern Hodgson said: "I've done quite a bit of work on this and I'm hugely disappointed. Looking at the bigger picture, we had to be realistic. Financially we would be responsible for every aspect, from catering to stewarding. We sold 5,000 tickets straight away for the last charity match. We've sold 70 so far for this one and I think that gives us a clear indication of the response."

With the club needing to raise money before the summer Hodgson can not afford to run the game at a loss but hopes that the match can rearranged at a later date. "We are in administration and we cannot afford to run at a loss. In theory we were raising money for two charities with no guarantee of raising money. It would have been a huge gamble to go ahead."

The match was going to raise money for the club and Percy Hedley Foundation in Newcastle, the chosen charity of Darlington fan and match organiser, Paul Hodgson. Speaking to the Echo he said they hoped to rearranged for another time and thanked everyone for their hard work.

"It such a shame to see all our hard work go to waste," said Paul Hodgson. "I must thank everybody who have taken the time to help and hopefully we might be able to arrange something in the future."

The raffle which was to be drawn at half time will now be drawn at half time in the final home game of the season against Swansea City.

Picture: Dafts.co.uk
Source: The-Tinshed.net

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