WESSEX League Premier side, Brockenhurst FC, is your standard run-of-the-mill non-league club. If they’re lucky, they’ll get 200 fans down to the Meadens Skoda Arena.
However, for one night, October 17th, they had their moment, as the Ex Saints charity team, made up of former Southampton FC players, arrived for a charity game, against a team of Brockenhurst legends.
Organiser of the event, Southampton FC CEO, Phil Parsons, explained why Brockenhurst was chosen as a venue:
“I’ve actually got an affiliation with the club, the youth team.
“As I’ve learned more about the Ex Saints and how much we go around raising money for local clubs and the business and charity, I wanted to bring it to Brockenhurst because it’s great to raise funds for Brockenhurst Football Club.”
Brockenhurst Chairman, Mark Bockle, revealed how the club will benefit from the game:
“The charity today is split between the Saints Foundation, and the Brockenhurst juniors. “
The big thing for us at the moment is that we have two junior female teams, and we need to get a first team adult female team, so we can provide a pathway for the Juniors to go all the way through into adult football.”
Manager of the Brockenhurst legends, Tyrone Marsh, told of his approach to such an occasion:
“We tell them to have fun.
“That’s what it’s all about tonight.
“There are a few aging lads out there, we just tell them to have a good time.”
Chairman Bockle, laid his hopes for future collaborations:
“I hope that next year, when they talk to the ex-players about, where they would like to play next year.
“The first words that come out of their mouth is Brockenhurst.”
