Ben is ready for the big match!

AFC Sudbury’s players will have the eyes of the nation on them on Friday night and no-one will be watching with more pride than Ben Davies.

The super-fan, also a Yellows board member, has been there from the start of the club’s journey in 1999 having originally supported Sudbury Town prior to their merger with Sudbury Wanderers.

He was among those to make the long trip to Darlington last time the club were at this stage 21 years ago but admits this occasion – at home, under the lights, against a Colchester side from just up the road – will be on another level.

It is the sort of night that really brings home how the romance of famous old competition lives on, with a 2,500 capacity crowd expected at Sudbury’s MEL Group Stadium, and Davies is delighted to see the whole town share in a passion he has held for decades.

“The town is already buzzing, there is a feelgood factor,” he said.

“I think it’s a lift that everyone has needed, to come out of where we have been.
“The town is a small market town, a lovely place but quite quiet, not much happens – and then this happens at AFC Sudbury.

“When we had the draw the other week, we were all at the football club and watched it live. When we got Colchester, the closest team we could have got, at home, we all just thought ‘wow’.

“We went into town and every other person was asking me about the game and whether I could get them tickets.

“We’ve had requests from the Mayor and the local MP, who both want to come along, and one of the local pubs [Horse and Groome] are making it ‘AFC Sudbury day’ with themed cocktails and scarves up.

“Everyone is coming out the woodwork saying ‘right, we’ve got to be there, we can’t miss it’.”

The Yellows are one of nine clubs from across the Pitching In Northern Premier, Isthmian and Southern Leagues looking to continue their fairytale runs this weekend and all nine, along with more than 200 others, are supported by Pitching In, a landmark grassroots sport investment programme set up by Ladbrokes, with the support of its owner Entain.

As well as financial support, the initiative focuses on the community aspect of non-league football and the importance of volunteers – two topics in which Davies is well-versed.

“I was reluctant when the merger happened – it’s like Ipswich Town and Norwich City merging and all the Ipswich fans having to watch their team at Carrow Road,” he said.

“But I soon started as a volunteer by operating the turnstiles and all the other jobs you get involved with.

“I have followed AFC all around the country, even in friendlies in Northern Ireland, and we are now far more of a community club.

“We have 25 teams in the club – youth teams, competitive EJA teams, a big ladies’ section and a full-time academy.

“When we beat Dartford in the last round, we had nine players who had come through our own academy system which formed the basis of the first team squad. Twenty years ago, we didn’t have that.”

This year’s memorable cup run is particularly poignant on a personal level for Davies, whose wife Lynsey – also a long-time volunteer and fundraiser at the club - passed away from cancer in March.

“This has been a tough year for me so having the team doing what they have done this season has put a smile on my face for the first time in seven months,” he said.

“It has been lovely and to be involved now in the planning for the game, with the tickets and everything else is exactly what I needed.

“It’s something I’m really looking forward to it and I know whatever the result, the boys will do us proud.”

Ladbrokes, with the support of its owner Entain, has launched a multi-million pound investment programme, Pitching In, designed to support and promote grassroots sports. For more details head here.

Article courtesy of Paul Martin