Guillem Balague column: Why Biggleswade United need local business to help as costs go up

It is not just about matchdays but also for training nights for our four senior sides when the ground has to be lit and the clubhouse has to be warm and welcoming for all those who attend.

Which is why like never before we need to do the very best to try to get in touch with local businesses to see if we can work together and see if they can help us by way of sponsorship in all its guises to help address this latest crisis.

Here at Biggleswade United we are blessed by having around 70,000 followers on social media. This has helped us open up partnerships with people all over the world and we have in the past featured in reports on Spanish and Brazilian TV, have been the subject of a double paged spread in the prestigious French sports paper, L'Equipe and even featured in a mini fly on the wall series on TV2 in Norway.

But there is nothing more vital, valuable and effective than establishing a network that can make direct contact with those people on our doorstep, our own community.

We now around 200 people involved at the club as volunteers, players or coaches all of who can spread the word.

There are many ways that local businesses can support us be it by sponsoring a player for £75, a match for £175, or even the match ball for 50.

We already have around 10 of our players from our senior sides sponsored and hopefully more will follow.

There are also opportunities for businesses to advertise their businesses around the ground and we are constantly looking for new and varied ways to keep the ground running on a daily basis.

Above all we must strive to develop relationships with those who are closest to us because now more than ever before we need to work together to try to create an identity and mutual prosperity for us and that community that we are proud to be a part of.

There is now a fund raising team and one of our first initiatives will be to have our replica kit and other club merchandise available in an outlet in the town as well as at the clubhouse

We are constantly talking to the hospitality industry in the town to see how we can work together with advertising.

Financial assistance from the FA during the pandemic was a vital lifeline for us but is now a thing of the past.

We now need to look at maximising the assets that we have. Our clubhouse is always available to rent for functions such as birthday's, weddings, anniversaries etc or for any clubs, societies or companies looking for a venue where their members or employees can enjoy the benefits of a fully licensed bar and the warmest of welcomes.