Ipswich Town fans raise £600 for children's tickets

Members from the club's south west England branch say they are "very fortunate as a group" and can afford to travel to home and away matches

About £600 has been raised by football fans so children from their club's home town can attend games.

The Ipswich Town South West England branch members raised the money because rising prices meant "a lot of people can't afford" to attend.

Paul Simcox, 57, from Bristol, said they also hoped to "generate the passion" they have for the club among a new generation of fans.

The club said it was "blown away with the generosity of our supporters".

Paul Simcox (above second from left) said they wanted children in Ipswich to be able to go to matches

The branch has nearly 200 members in the south west of England, with some doing a 740-mile (1,190 km) round-trip from Cornwall to watch Portman Road games, according to Mr Simcox.

The retired Royal Marine said: "We're very fortunate as a group and can afford to go to games, both home and away, but with the cost of living crisis that we have, a lot of people can't afford to do that.

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"So we thought, let's try to raise £600 so at least 320 children can attend.

The branch also wanted to "show our support for what [owner] Gamechanger are doing off the pitch and what manager Kieran McKenna's doing on the pitch", he said.

Player Conor Chaplin is a trustee of the Ipswich Town Foundation

The money will be donated to the Ipswich Town Foundation, to allocate to youth groups and schools.

Mr Simcox, who grew up in Harkstead, Suffolk, has been following the club for more than 50 years "during height of its power with Sir Bobby Robson in the late 70s and early 80s".

Singer Ed Sheeran is one of the club's biggest fans and been the shirt sponsors for the men's and women's teams since last season

A club spokesman said: "The club's been blown away with the generosity of supporters over the past year and this year through the PackOutPr campaign and from raising money for tickets for those otherwise unable to attend Portland Road."

In 2021, fans raised £12,000 to help pay for tickets for those struggling financially.

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