Hyde FC managed to raise £10,000 by the skin of their teeth following an arson attack in May and may have a surprise in store for pledgers who attend the launch party of their revamped social club.
The club had just eight weeks to raise the funds and managed to meet the target with less than a day to spare after receiving an extension from Crowdfunder.
And work has already started on the building after securing the funding, with a twist potentially to come at the relaunch night.
Thanks to all the pledgers which helped hit our target you are all invited to the relaunch night @MissNataliePike is wearing her bikini 😉
— Hyde FC Official (@hydefclive) June 29, 2014
@hydefclive hahahahaha oh god not more bikini talk!!
— Natalie Pike (@MissNataliePike) June 29, 2014
Manchester City presenter Natalie Pike teased the players in January by saying she would take the club’s next team talk in a bikini if they can claim victory in their Skrill Premier clash at Southport.
Hyde went on a 27-match run without a win in the division last season as they were relegated to the Skrill Conference North and things did not improve off the pitch this summer as the attack destroyed the club’s tearoom, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.
At one stage the club needed to raise nearly £1,000 in just 48 hours and Tony Spencer, webmaster for Hyde and brains behind the page, was unsure if the Tigers would be able to meet the deadline in time.
“Honestly I didn’t think we would reach the target,” he said.
“I rang Crowdfunder up and basically pleaded with them to extend the deadline which they did by a couple of days.
“Then I just plugged it in emails and over Twitter and in the last two days it just snowballed.”
However, the plan for the page had already been submitted prior to the attack, which was just one of a number to have affected Ewen Fields in the past few months.
The Tameside club wanted to refurbish their social club which required a number of modifications such as a new floor, the replacement of ceiling tiles, the mending of a leaky roof and rewiring of the electrics as well as a host of other problems.
“We’ve already started painting and decorating and have today been looking at the flooring,” said Tony.
“We’ve also got a number of acts and events lined up such as a Meatloaf impersonator from Tenerife and karaoke nights.
“We will also be holding a launch party for players and people who donated to come and enjoy.”
Crowdfunder is a way to source funds for projects and in return, donors receive a reward for their support.
If the money is raised within a certain timeframe, or exceeded, then the funds go towards the cause but, if not, then all money is returned to the public.
Around 3,000 projects have been successfully launched so far, raising over £1.5million with support from over 70m followers.
For £4, pledgers received a Hyde FC car sticker, £50 got backers a signed photo of the first-team, £120 secured a signed first-team kit, £160 a training session with the team or for the bargain price of £800 they will be given a pitch-side advertisement board.
The money was raised by 176 backers from across the globe as football fans from far and wide showed their support.
“People from as far as the United States have donated and I’m overwhelmed that so many people not connected to the club decided to put their hands in their pockets and offer some money,” added Tony.
“Myself and the club are just really grateful to everyone who donated and made this possible.”
Main image courtesy of HydeFC ShedEnd via YouTube, with thanks.
