Chirpy Canaries launch crowdfunding campaign

Their plight touched the hearts of the football world – and now Hitchin Town are hoping to rekindle the love.

Last December more than 1,500 people turned out for a protest match against plans by the club’s landlords to build a supermarket on their Top Field home and relocate them to an out-of-town site.

The backlash caused the plans to be scrapped and the club were handed a 25-year lease.

Now comes the next part. With Top Field no longer in top condition after years of uncertainty over its future, the Canaries are eager to refurbish their home and turn it into one to be proud of.

They are hoping that launching a Crowdfunder site this Friday will help them raise the money needed to bring their ground up to scratch. It’s a fitting time, too, as the club are celebrating the 150th anniversary of association football in Hitchin this year.

In a press release, the club said: “It is essential we now move forward after 25 years of stagnation and the uneven battle to keep plugging holes that has been the nature of our fight to keep the current stadium in a useable condition must now be replaced by the need to rebuild Top Field and move the club into the 21^st century.

“We are raising funds to help us rebuild Top Field and are looking for donations from as little as £1 to help preserve this historic football club for future generations.

“The Crowdfunder site will go live at 6pm on Friday, June 19 and the target is to raise as much as possible. The link for the Crowdfunder site will appear on the club website (www.hitchintownfc.co.uk) on Friday evening when the site goes live.”

by John Lyons