Scotland stars Charlie Mulgrew and Emma Fernon kick off kids’ football kit giveaway

Scotland football stars Charlie Mulgrew and Emma Fernon have kicked off a campaign to give away football kits to boys’ and girls’ teams across Britain.
‘Host Your Kit’ is an initiative by Scottish Digital IT Company of the Year iomart Hosting to give top quality football kits to youth teams in England, Scotland and Wales, who for various reasons either can’t afford their own kit or desperately need a new one. 

Celtic player Charlie Mulgrew said: “I’m delighted to be supporting this great campaign by iomart Hosting. I remember as a young boy how much of a confidence boost it gave me when I ran out on the pitch wearing a proper kit  Thanks to Host Your Kit teams across Britain will be able to kick off their next league campaign with that extra bit of pride.”

Emma Fernon, who plays for Glasgow City Ladies and also coaches in the community, said: “I’m really proud to be supporting this great community campaign by iomart Hosting. Women’s football is one of the fastest growing sports in this country and the teams need decent kits so I hope lots of girls’ teams take the opportunity to get involved.” 

Glasgow-headquartered iomart Hosting is one of the UK’s leading providers of cloud computing and managed hosting services. The company is giving away the latest adidas strip to 30 teams who send in the best video or email explaining why their side deserves a new kit. The adidas kits, which will consist of 14 outfield players’ and one goalkeeper’s strip, are being provided by Greaves Sports, 

Phil Worms, Director of Marketing for iomart Hosting, said: “I know that many of our customers and employees have sons and daughters who play football for their local teams and that getting new kits season after season is a real challenge for many of the parents involved. With 2012 being called the Year of Sport, this is the perfect opportunity for us to get involved with a campaign that combines our hosting expertise with the promotion of sport in the community. As a leading managed and cloud hosting company we’ve built a great reputation for the hosting of physical server kit and count many sporting organisations as clients, so now we’re hoping to make our mark in the hosting of football kits!”

Sandy Greaves, Managing Director of Greaves Sports, said: “Hopefully sharing the same kit brand as great teams like Spain, Argentina, Germany, and of course Scotland, will inspire these young teams to bigger and better things. This is a fabulous initiative by iomart Hosting and one we’re delighted to be involved in.”
Charlie Mulgrew was voted SPL Player of the Month earlier this week and recently won his first senior Scotland cap in the 1-1 draw with Slovenia.  He said: “There’s something very special about pulling on a club or international jersey. It’s a huge privilege to wear the famous Celtic hoops and the Scotland strip; it makes me feel incredibly proud. ” 

Emma Fernon was the first Glasgow City player to ever score in Europe and has just returned from playing for Scotland in the Cyprus Cup.  She said: “It was a real struggle for clubs when I was young. Parents and coaches had to beg money from local businesses to buy kits so it’s great that iomart Hosting is offering a helping hand to teams. Wearing a proper kit when you’re young really boosts your confidence and can even give you a bit of a psychological edge.”  

To enter ‘Host Your Kit’ teams have to send in a video or email explaining why they deserve a new kit. The competition runs until Friday 20th July with the winners revealed in three phases: the first ten winning teams will be announced at the end of April (Friday April 27), the second set on the opening day of the European Football Championship (Friday May 8) and the final 10 winners will be unveiled on the opening day of the Olympics (Friday 27 July).

Charlie Mulgrew grew up in Kirkintilloch where he attended Holy Family Primary School and then St Ninian’s High School. He started playing competitive football at the age of eight. He celebrated his 26th birthday this week.

Charlie added: “We want everyone involved in youth football to spread the word about Host Your Kit so that as many teams as possible enter. It gives every young kid a great boost to wear a top quality football kit so it’s a great campaign. ”
Phil Worms of iomart Hosting added: “We’d like to thank Charlie and Emma for giving up their own free time to launch Host Your Kit as well as our partners Greaves Sports and adidas for their support. We can’t wait to receive the first entries.”

Host Your Kit is open to abled-bodied and disabled boys’ and girls’ football teams who play in a recognised youth league in the Under11 (2001s) to Under 16s (1996s) age categories in England, Scotland or Wales.

You can follow the Host Your Kit campaign on Twitter @hostyourkit or on the Host Your Kit Facebook page. Details of how to enter are on the campaign website www.hostyourkit.com

To find out more about iomart Hosting visit www.iomarthosting.com

Contact Information

Jane Robertson

Head of PR

iomart Group plc

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