The Rovers home game with Watford on Saturday 23rd December has been designated as the latest Fan Takeover game following the trail blazed with the pre-season friendly game with Girona. 

The December weather may be somewhat chillier than that experienced in July, but the fans are working closely with the the club to make the pre-Christmas atmosphere as warm as possible for Jon-Dahl Tomasson's exciting young Rovers side. 

We Are The Rovers - the Rovers Trust - has led the initiative, once again co-opting support from various fan groups and media outlets including BRFCS.com, the 4000 Holes podcast & fanzine team, Rovers Chat, Her Game Too, Proud Rovers and Rovers SAS to name but a few, who will have a strong media presence in the weeks leading up to the game as well as a physical presence in the Fanzone behind the Blackburn End on the day. 

Mike Graham of WATR said earlier; “We think that with the great value of the ticket offering we can help attract a bumper crowd and that Rovers fans from far and wide will come and cheer the team on. We hope those supporters who will be back in Lancashire for the festive period will come along, or gift a ticket as an early Christmas present to a friend or family member who hasn’t been to Ewood in a while.”

Rovers CEO Steve Waggott added: “The first fan takeover for our pre-season friendly game against Girona was a real success, so to do another one for the start of our festive fixtures against Watford made perfect sense. We have reduced the ticket prices as we know it is a financially challenging time of the year for families and fans, so with lots of festive fun being lined up for December 23rd it should make for an extra special day out for all attending Ewood Park.”

Tickets for the Watford game will go on sale at 9am on 28th November from the Rovers ticketing website, from the Roverstore at Ewood Park and via the Ticket Office on 01254 372000.

Christmas Funding Appeal 

In addition to the £1 charity donation on all adult tickets, BRFCS is also launching a Christmas Funding Appeal for fans who want to make a difference to young supporters who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend the fixture - see details below.

All funds raised will be handed over to Blackburn Rovers Community Trust, who will distribute the tickets to local families, with any surplus funds being put towards the Community Trust’s Holiday Hunger programme, which provides support to children in receipt of free school meals over the holiday periods.

A donation point in the Roverstore will also be set up to encourage supporters to buy gifts from the club shop and donate them back to the club, so that underprivileged children can receive a Rovers present this Christmas. 

A number of supporters who couldn't attend the first Fan Takeover game against Girona in the summer asked if they could buy tickets for children who otherwise would not have been able to attend. A subsequent appeal funded over 40 tickets for children, their adult carers and the transport & refreshment costs in conjunction with Blackburn Youth Zone.  

Following this success, BRFCS is working closely with the Blackburn Rovers Community Trust to co-ordinate a similar appeal ahead of the Watford game for any fans who would like to support the activities of BRCT in this regard.

What will happen to any funds raised ? 

Blackburn Rovers Community Trust hosts a Holiday Activity & Food (HAF) programme for local children aged 5 to 11. The programme is designed for children who are eligible for free school meals or identified by local agency referral as ‘in need’, are entitled to join the holiday club sessions for free. Based at Ewood Park, the Christmas period programme will run from Tuesday 2nd to Friday 5th January, and will provide all participants with a meal each day, as well as various activities to keep them entertained.

BRCT Neighbourhood Youth Offer (NYO), works alongside partners, delivers positive activities at Ewood Park and across the borough for children and young people aged 8 – 19 years. The offer addresses the issues that local young people face, whist providing diversionary activities and impactful life changing experiences.

NYO sessions are primarily delivered in the boroughs most deprived wards where young people are often living in poverty and are not fortunate enough to enjoy a well-to-do Christmas. 

To help the local community, Blackburn Rovers supporter’s groups are asking fans to buy an extra gift when visiting the club shop, and place in the containers provided. These will be donated to the children Blackburn Rovers Community Trust engage with through our NYO and HAF programmes - any donated gifts from fans would be gratefully received; it would be wonderful to see smiles on young faces when they receive an extra special gift this Christmas.

In addition to this, BRFCS is looking to raise money to give junior fans, who may not otherwise be able to afford to enjoy a match at Ewood Park, a chance to join us for the Takeover game. Any surplus cash will be donated to the Community Trust and will go towards supplementing the cost of the food and providing additional activities/entertainment for the children on the HAF programme, to make the Christmas period more special for them.

 Martin Winters, Head of Operations for Blackburn Rovers Community Trust said, “Blackburn Rovers Community Trust, the official charity of the Blackburn Rovers, would like to say thank you to the various supporters’ groups, as we work together to provide matchday tickets and a special Christmas gift to local children and families who are in need over festive period. As we know, this time of year can be a struggle for a lot of people, and we hope, with the kind donations from Blackburn Rovers fans, we will be able to make a difference to local lives and spread some Christmas joy.”

If you want to know more about the great work Blackburn Rovers Community Trust does in the local community, please click here to read their impact report. https://online.fliphtml5.com/lcgr/rwzo/

Anyone wanting to make a donation, however small - remember, £2 will buy one child's ticket for instance - is asked to transfer to the following account, marking the donation as "Watford" in the payment reference.* 

Payee: Northern Horde Ltd

S/C: 60-83-71
A/C No: 46743850

Please note - the cut-off for donations is 11th December to enable BRCT time to sort out the logistics of arranging care, transport and ticketing.

As at 28/11 - £1200 had been raised.

*After the event, Northern Horde Ltd will ask their accountants to confirm in their next accounts that all funds generated have been paid over to BRCT, so that all donors can be sure the money has reached the intended beneficiaries.