Accrington Stanley Community Trust announces renewed front-of-shirt sponsorships with Readstone Construction and Ainsworths Chartered Accountants.

Accrington Stanley Community Trust (ASCT) is delighted to announce the renewal of its front-of-shirt sponsorships with two long-standing local partners, Readstone Construction and Ainsworths Chartered Accountants.

Both companies have proudly featured on the Community Trust’s Football College official playing kit for several years, and their continued commitment highlights the strength of partnership between the Trust and the local business community.

Readstone Construction, a trusted name in building and civil engineering across Lancashire, and Ainsworths Chartered Accountants – a respected local accountancy firm with deep community roots, will once again take pride of place on the front of the College team home shirts and continue their support through prominent branding.

The renewed sponsorships will help the Trust continue to deliver a wide range of community projects, including sports participation programmes, education and employability initiatives, and health and wellbeing activities across Hyndburn and the surrounding areas.

Joanna Williams- Partnerships & Fundraising Manager of Accrington Stanley Community Trust, said:

“We’re incredibly proud to have both Readstone Construction and Ainsworths continue their support for the Trust. These partnerships go far beyond just a logo on a shirt – they represent a shared belief in improving lives and opportunities for local people. Their backing allows us to keep expanding our programmes and making a positive impact in our community.”

Simon Whittam, Project Director and Co-Owner of Readstone Construction, added:

 “Supporting Accrington Stanley Community Trust aligns perfectly with our values. The Trust does outstanding work across all age groups, and with being the construction company that has grown alongside the trust and built their facilities it makes sense to help out and we’re delighted to continue our partnership and play a small part in helping them grow.”

Mick Heys, Director at Ainsworths Chartered Accountants, said:

“We’ve seen first-hand the difference the Trust makes locally. Renewing our sponsorship was an easy decision – it’s about supporting local people, local sport, and local pride.”

The Trust’s Football College new kits featuring both sponsors will be worn across all community teams from November 2025 onwards.

The English Football League’s (EFL) annual Week of Action is taking place from 3 – 7 November 2025, celebrating the collective impact of Football Club charities’ community work across England and Wales.

The week showcases how EFL Clubs have taken on even greater importance within their communities, supporting people’s health, happiness, social connections, education and economic prospects.

The work undertaken by the 72 Club charities has a sizeable impact across key areas linked to issues ranked high on the national government agenda, such as health, education and criminal justice. Football Club charities help to relieve pressures on the country’s national systems in a bid to help improve the quality of people’s lives.

In November 2024, research analysing data from the 2023/24 season found that more than one million people engaged in Club community projects across the towns and cities served by EFL Clubs, generating a total of £1.24bn of social value across the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons.

While Managers and First Team players actively support their Club’s community activities all year round, the EFL Week of Action provides an opportunity to shine a light on the most impactful and innovative projects across England and Wales, allowing players and managers to meet participants and hear firsthand how projects are improving the quality of people’s lives.

Some of the standout activations taking place across the week, are:

• Coventry City – Manager Frank Lampard will be attending the EFL Week of Action Event hosted at the Coventry Building Society stadium. The Club will be showcasing one of the dementia programmes ran by their foundation, with one of the participants also taking part in a panel.

• Birmingham City – The Club will be bringing their social isolation group, “Brew with Blues”, to the Week of Action Event at Coventry on 6 November, along with striker Jay Stansfield.

• Oldham Athletic – The Club are inviting  the football team Angels United – a football team of dads who have sadly lost young children – to spend a day with the first team at training. The dads will also be having lunch with the team and management, to talk about their cause.

• Tranmere Rovers – The British Heart Foundation and Sky Bet will host a group RevivR CPR and defibrillator training session at Tranmere Rovers’ Prenton Park, designed to help local grassroots football clubs gain the confidence and skills to save lives. The 45 minute workshop will be led by BHF experts, with England and Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher joining to show his support and inspire others to learn CPR. This initiative forms part of the BHF and Sky Bet’s Every Minute Matters campaign, which has already inspired more than 300,000 football fans to start learning CPR.
• Preston North End – The Club will be running CPR-Defib training for PNEFC fans pre-match. Following  the second cardiac arrest in 18 months at Deepdale – the most recent ending tragically – the goal is to use the platform to reach supporters with life-saving first aid and CPR training, empowering them with the skills and confidence to act in emergencies both within football settings and in the wider community.
• Bolton Wanderers – Steven Schumacher will be attending Headstart, a young people’s mental health support programme that supports Year 6 children as they transition to secondary school. The project aims to provide mental health education and coping strategies through classroom sessions and one-to-one support.
• Charlton Athletic – Greg Docherty and Lloyd Jones, plus Keira Skeels and Karin Muya from the Women’s Team, will be attending the Short Breaks programme. The programme supports young people aged 11-17 with disabilities, inviting them to enjoy fun activities that build confidence and develop their independence and social skills.
• QPR – Striker Michael Frey is a keen artist who uses his passion to benefit his own mental health. Michael will be attending and participating in Healthy Kickers, a mental health and wellbeing project, and bringing some of his own pieces of art.
• Bristol Rovers – Taylor Moore set up a mental health project in his local community after his mum attempted to take her own life last year. Working with Bristol Rovers Community Trust, Taylor has created a monthly activity – 5K Your Way – which invites local community members to join him in a walk around Bristol, to talk, socialise and get some exercise. It is now attended by approximately 200 local people.
• Cambridge United – Members of the first-team squad are invited to a ‘Pledge United’ session, a unique programme designed to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls and wider societal issues concerning misogyny and sexism. The Club has recently been awarded Catalyst funding for this programme.

Trevor Birch, CEO of the EFL, said: “The EFL Week of Action celebrates and demonstrates the formidable, life-changing impact that our Clubs and their Charities are making in their local communities.

“Whether it’s supporting men, women, and children with mental health challenges, providing warm spaces and hot meals to families facing financial difficulties, or assisting those recovering from addiction, EFL Clubs are truly at the heart of their communities. They respond to, and proactively address, some of society’s biggest challenges.

“I am always extremely proud to hear about the depth and breadth of services provided by Club charities and the positive contribution they make – work that is both locally relevant and nationally significant.”

Accrington Stanley Community Trust are celebrating National Poetry Day and want our partner schools to join in on the act! We are looking to celebrate our young people and their passion for poetry.

We are hosting a National Poetry Day Competition which will see over 50 schools take part in the challenge! We want you to create your own poem celebrating your teachers and all their hard work! We will have a KS1 and a KS2 entry. The poem can be as long or a little as you want as long as you celebrate how fantastic your teachers are!

We plan to celebrate the winners of each school in a school assembly on National Poetry Day (2^nd October 2025). The winners of each school will then go into the final round of judging with the chance to win the overall prize which includes having your poem to appear in an Accrington Stanley Match Day Programme, 2 free tickets to watch Accrington Stanley FC and to have your poem read over the tannoy live at the game!

This is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the fantastic work of our young people and helpful inspire different generations.

All poems must be submitted by 26^th September 2025

To enter our competition please send your completed poem, with your name, year group and school to elle.andrews@stanleytrust.co.uk

Thank you and Good Luck!