Hyde United’s turnstile volunteers may vary in age but their love for the club remains synonymous.
Tim Bradley, 62, has volunteered at Hyde for over 40 years. He used to help sell matchday programmes and is now running the gate.
He said: “It’s in your blood, veins and arteries; once you get bitten by the bug then it never
leaves you and always stays with you, that’s non-league football.
“Volunteers are the lifeblood and the source, a club doesn’t function at all without its volunteers, we don’t get paid and we don’t want to get paid, but it’s not functional without us.
“Being part of it can be grim in the coal face at times but then you have your good moments as well, it’s just a great feeling to be part of the football club and on this journey to wherever.”
Scott Thomas can be found in the adjacent turnstile to Tim at the Project Solar Stadium, and despite being nearly 40 years younger than his colleague, his love for the club runs just as deep.
Thomas is just 24 and has been volunteering at Hyde for 13 years, starting as a mascot before working in the tea rooms and now as a turnstile operator.
He said: “The people around you are here for the same things you are; they are here to watch the club and they’re here to help it as well, and the more people we have the better.
“It’s a family club to me, my sisters work here, my mum works here as the secretary and my dad comes to games.”
It is now easier than ever to get involved and volunteer at your local non-league club thanks to Pitching In’s Volunteer Hub, which allows clubs to advertise roles online.
Bradley and Thomas’ roles on the turnstiles had some extra meaning on Saturday, as they helped the club allow veterans in for free to join an initiative which could be seen across various non-league games this weekend to mark Remembrance Sunday.
Scott said: “They mean so much to us, what they did then and what they’re doing now, they’re so special to us and we always try to make their day even more special.
“It was our way of trying to give something back for what they do for us.”
Find volunteering opportunities at your local club by visiting https://pitchinginvolunteers.co.uk/
