Every fan knows that Kettering Town were the first ever club in England to wear shirt sponsorship, that “The Doug” was in charge at the time and that the FA fined them. (What a far-sighted organisation they have always been. NOT! Think European football, the women’s game etc etc) Wikipedia says neutrally, “Dougan negotiated a four-figure shirt sponsorship with Kettering Tyres, which was the first such deal in England. After its use in the Southern League Premier Division match against Bath City on 24 January 1976 the FA demanded that the club remove the sponsor’s logo threatening a fine of £1000, and were not impressed when Dougan initially attempted to circumvent the FA’s demands by shortening the branding ‘Kettering Tyres’ to simply ‘Kettering T’. The logo was removed, though in June 1977 the FA decreed that a 2.5 square inch logo would be permitted in the future provided it was not “detrimental to the image of the game.” Fifty years later shirt sponsorship is an integral part of the game with even the most modest U7s proudly wearing the logo/name of their local fast food shop or local driving school. In fact on the 40th anniversary the club even brought out a commemorative issue. Nice marketing!

40th Anniversary Shirt

Darren – Ready for Action

Anyway, our intrepid traveller, Darren Ashley was at Kettering this week and tried something new. See if you enjoy his report as much as he did making it!

Here is his YouTube He reminds me that he is always looking for more non-league clubs to visit so if you want to get some excellent free spotlighting for your Step 3 to 6 club, do get in touch with him.

Photos: By unknown – https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67952556

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