National Lottery Players Thanked for Covid Support with Free Football Tickets at BRFC

National Lottery players across the country, including those from here in Berwick and the surrounding area, are being given the chance to watch their local football teams for free as a thank you for the over £12.5 million of National Lottery funding which helped these community clubs survive when the Covid pandemic struck and football at this level effectively shut down.

The National Lottery Football Weekend’s campaign will make over 100,000 tickets available on a ‘Buy One Get One Free’ basis for National Lottery players for selected matches in March and April, including at BRFC’s home game vs Gala Fairydean Rovers, on March 26th.  It aims to get people out to watch and really get behind their local team, perhaps for the first time, and experience the vital role these clubs play as part of their local community.

Thanks to National Lottery players, during the height of the Covid crisis a total support package of over £12.5 million from The National Lottery was made available and proved vital for many local clubs across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, to survive the loss of essential matchday revenue as football shut down. 

The National Lottery Football Weekend is to thank National Lottery players for stepping up when they were needed the most. The special ‘Buy One Get One Free’ ticket offer will be available to National Lottery players for a game at one of the 231 participating clubs in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.* The ticket offer will apply to the Berwick Rangers’ home match, taking place on 26th March

The campaign will be delivered in partnership with the Vanarama National League, The FA (Football Association), The Scottish FA (Scottish Football Association) FAW (Football Association of Wales), and NIFA (Northern Ireland Football Association) and is also backed by well-known ex-footballers Ally McCoist and Karen Carney. 

To find out more about The National Lottery Football Weekends visit www.thenationallotteryfootballweekends.co.uk. 

The money for this campaign, as well as the initiatives with the various FA’s and leagues across the UK during Covid, came from a National Lottery promotional fund, it was not funded by money allocated for National Lottery Good Causes or by Camelot.

The National Lottery is also working alongside Non-League Day, a campaign set up in 2010 to encourage supporters of clubs playing at the highest levels of the game to support their smaller local or non-league club and sample the unique matchday experience of football at local level.

The National Lottery has always played a vital role in supporting elite, community, and grassroots sports in the UK.  Including football, The National Lottery has invested more than £5.7 billion into grassroots sport since it was established in 1994. In the last year, nearly £395 million was given to grassroots and elite sport good causes, funding everything from facilities to playing fields and creating opportunities for everyone to get active and improve their lives through sport. 

There are other opportunities for National Lottery players in March.  The National Lottery Open Week takes place between 19th – 27th March to say thank you for the more than £30 million raised every week by National Lottery players.  Open Week unlocks free entry and exclusive discounts for National Lottery players at a range of participating venues including galleries, museums, gardens, historic castles, and sports stadiums. Full Ts&C’s apply and are available at www.nationallotteryopenweek.com & https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/media/8622/scottish-fa-the-national-lottery-football-weekends-tcs-1.pdf