Cherry Red Records increase sponsorship
AFC Wimbledon are delighted to announce that long-time commercial partner Cherry Red Records has increased its sponsorship for the 2014/15 season by 50 per cent.
The sponsorship boost from Cherry Red Records comes after successful fundraising initiatives including the We Are Wimbledon Fund, the Blue and Yellow Club and lifelong supporter Mike Richardson’s generous offer to match donations from fans made during June.
Cherry Red Records has sponsored AFC Wimbledon since its rebirth in 2002. Its association with the club all started with the “Cherry Red Presidents Lounge” and, of course, the ground has been known as the Cherry Red Records Stadium for many years.
The club needs more money and it’s as simple as that. We also have the possibility of moving back to Wimbledon with all the related expenditure related to that. Chairman Iain McNay, who is also Vice President at the club, said: “We decided to increase our contribution to AFC Wimbledon for next season because we feel that the club is now at a crucial stage in its life. Neal Ardley is an ambitious young manager who is determined to find us success and he needs all the help he can get with his playing budget. We have had one of the lowest budgets in League 2 since we got promoted three year ago and we need to increase it if we are serious about moving away from a relegation struggle every season.
If AFC Wimbledon is to move forward everyone needs to dig a bit deeper if they can and we at Cherry Red Records want to do our bit. “Mike Richardson made a rallying call recently with his offer to donate more money on a matching basis. Together we can all make a difference. The fan-owned model is very challenging when a certain level is reached as plenty of other football clubs are heavily subsidised by rich owners.
“The club has made a big statement about its intentions for next season by signing exciting players such as Matt Tubbs and Adebayo Akinfenwa. This club is special in so many ways and we deserve to start moving forward again. Hopefully next season we will all be looking up the league table rather than down.”
Iain McNay (right) in photograph above is pictured with Cherry Red Records Managing Director Adam Velasco.
Chief Executive Erik Samuelson wished to thank Cherry Red Records for increasing their sponsorship and for their backing of the club throughout the years.
“It is a fantastic gesture from Cherry Red Records to increase their sponsorship by 50 per cent,” Erik said. “We are very fortunate to have sponsors such as Cherry Red Records who are supportive of the club in a wide range of ways and are actively involved in what we do. We are grateful that Cherry Red Records want to back Neal Ardley in his aim to strengthen the squad to make it an exciting season ahead. We very much appreciate the support of Cherry Red Records and I want to thank them for increasing their sponsorship.”