In the early hours of Wednesday 26th June, a fire ravaged through the home of East Coast Juniors destroying equipment, documents and historic artefacts from over 20-years of history including 20 presentation night shields.
The club based near Skegness, has been devastated by the tragic and unfortunate event that unfolded and after hearing of the fire, The Imps wanted to raise the spirits of the players, staff, parents and everyone associated with the club.
Lincoln City officials this week donated over 100 tickets to East Coast Juniors for this weekend’s friendly against Sheffield Wednesday. Alongside the tickets, The Imps and The Owls are donating a signed shirt to East Coast Juniors to help them raise vital funds to help rebuild their facilities. The Junior Football Club has also opened up a just giving page, as they aim to raise £5,000 to rebuild at their Drummond Road home, to donate to their cause please click - HERE
Richard Baker, Club Secretary for East Coast Juniors said after what has been a harrowing time, everyone at the club has been overwhelmed by the response from the Lincolnshire community and he’s looking forward to bringing the players and staff to Sincil Bank this weekend to give everyone a much-needed lift.
“It has been a devastating time for the whole club.” Richard said.
“All of our equipment has been destroyed from the fire. Goals, nets, corner flags and poles, to respect lines, our line marker and paint, pop up goals and spare kit. We also lost 23 years of Club history as approximately 20 Presentation Night Shields were also destroyed."
Richard continued: "The response from the local community has been fantastic. We've had a great number of people donate through Just Giving and through cash and cheques. We would like to say a massive "thank you" to you all from everyone associated with East Coast Juniors.
“It’s a great gesture from Lincoln City and this weekend's game is one which a lot of our players are really looking forward to attending. It's a great way to put a smile back onto our players faces after an upsetting last couple of weeks. Thank you, Lincoln City, from everyone at East Coast Juniors and good luck for the game.”