Sunderland RCA launch crowdfunding appeal for floodlight work

The coronavirus epidemic brought an abrupt end to the 2019-20 Northern League season in March and the lack of home fixtures has robbed clubs of their main source of income.

The impact of the epidemic has hit finances around the non-league scene and it could not have come at a worse time for RCA.

The club held an inspection of their facilities recently and found that their floodlights were in need of repair to meet Northern League regulations ahead of any possible return to on-field action.

RCA’s volunteer-led committee and management team took the “difficult decision” to launch a crowdfunding appeal via the JustGiving website in order to meet the £3,000 figure needed to carry out the necessary work.

RCA manager Martin Swales told The Echo: “The groundsman and the electricians have been to the ground and there is extensive work needed on the floodlights.

“There’s a new regulation in the Northern League and they are checking electrics at grounds when they are doing inspections after a few clubs suffered issues last season.

“It’s not compatible with the regulations at the moment so we would not meet the criteria.

“That’s why we have had to launch the crowdfunder to ensure that we can get the floodlights sorted in time for whenever the season returns.

“We simply have to get it sorted.”

The local community have rallied around RCA after they launched their appeal and the donations started to pour in almost immediately.

The club’s players played their part by donating £500 from their ‘players pool’ money for the season and the halfway point was reached over the last few days.

He added: “Everyone is supporting us and there are a lot of supporters from within our local community and around the region.

“It’s an achievable target of £3,000 and we are already well over halfway towards meeting that.

“It’s a difficult time for everyone and people aren’t at work, they aren’t getting paid and there is a lot of uncertainty around at the moment.

“But hopefully we can get there.”