Young scribes get busy scribbling!

To celebrate the Ryman League’s 2017 Community Day and the fundraising efforts of Red Nose wearing supporters this weekend for Comic Relief, schoolchildren aged 11 and under are penning their reports after being invited to see fixtures at their local clubs for free as part of the annual fundraising drive by the Isthmian League’s title sponsors.

Theo Paphitis, the sponsor’s managing director, retail entrepreneur and ex-Dragon's Den star, is choosing the winning entry to mark the end of the record-breaking 20 year Ryman sponsorship and the thousands of pounds that have been raised for Comic Relief and other charities by the Isthmian League's 72 clubs over the years.

The sponsors teamed up with The Non-League Paper to run a one-off competition for budding young match reporters after sending hundreds of special Ryman League Community Day flyers to local schools and community groups for one adult and a child to see a Ryman League fixture for free.

To see their account of a game they attended published next weekend and win £250 worth of Ryman goodies - including a desk, VR headset, experiments kits, colouring materials and much more - the young scribes must write and submit a 180 word match report to MatchReport@ryman.co.uk by 7pm on Monday (March 27).

Before the event Paphitis said: “The Ryman Community Day is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the beautiful game at grassroots level, firstly for football lovers to watch and support their local teams, but also for parents and their kids to simply have a great family day out.”

Ryman League chairman Nick Robinson said: “The board are delighted that we were able to work with Ryman to put this event in place. It is part of a fitting climax to the conclusion of a fantastic partnership with Ryman and Theo Paphitis in particular.”

Hastings United manager Darren Hare is pictured with Arrows chairman David Ormerod and other club officials supporting Comic Relief at The Pilot Field on Saturday before their 5-0 win over Molesey in Ryman South. Soham Town Rangers are pictured with the mascots who were invited to represent the club at Julius Martin Lane for their 2-0 victory over Bowers & Pitsea in Ryman North.

Images courtesy of Andy Burford/Soham Town Rangers & Scott White/Hastings United

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