Bring Me the Horizon back local non-league team

Fans of Bring Me the Horizon - pictured at the Reading Festival in 2022 - travelled from as far as Edinburgh to be at Saturday's game in South Yorkshire

Sheffield rock band Bring Me the Horizon has launched a line of merchandise supporting its local non-league football team.

Drummer Mat Nicholls decided to sponsor Maltby Main - a Northern Counties East League Division One team based near Rotherham - after he was invited to get involved by school friend and club chairman Kieron White.

He has also designed and launched a range of merchandise - including T-shirts, hats and scarves - inspired by the club's programmes from the 1980s and 1990s to raise money for the team.

He said he got involved because the band members loved football and wanted to help provide something for young people in Maltby.

He said: "The shirt sponsorship came about because I went to school with [club chairman] Kieron and we played five-a-side a few times.

"Something like this can only be a good thing for the community. Anything constructive is good, getting people out of their house. So I'm happy to play what part I can."

The band attended the club's game against local rivals Wombwell Town on Saturday afternoon, which they lost 2:1.

Maltby Main community liaison officer James Bolton said: "Today is Mat's first game down here to come and watch us so we're using that as an excuse to get as many people down here as we can to get involved with non-league football.

"It showcases the club for the community.

"It's fantastic that non-league football is getting the credit it deserves."

Bring Me the Horizon drummer Mat Nicholls sponsors the Maltby team

More than 500 people came along to watch the match, and among them were Jessica and Justin, from Edinburgh, who came because they heard Bring Me the Horizon would be at the club.

Hibernian fan Jessica said: "My New Year's resolution was to be more spontaneous and I saw that Bring Me the Horizon would be here and I thought why not.

"I do like football so I thought why not support a local team while I can."

Justin said, despite being from Scotland, he already had a club strip because he had seen Nicholls wearing it on stage.

"I've got a Bring Me the Horizon tattoo. I've already got the Maltby Main strip. I'll be representing the club in Scotland," he said.

Bring Me the Horizon guitarist Lee Malia, from Rotherham, said it had been a "mad year" for the band.

He said: "We're 20 years in now and still going strong. We've just come back from Brazil where we were playing in a football stadium to 45,000 people, which was surreal. But it's good to come home to stuff like this."

Roy Ferguson, 80, said he had been following the club since 1952 and played for the club himself during the 1960s.

He had not heard of the band, but welcomed the funding boost.

He said: "We're short of someone putting a lot of money into the club. Last year we lost players because they go elsewhere for an extra £20."

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