Littlewoods backs 'unlucky' team site

by Philip Buxton, Revolution UK 14-Mar-05, 16:12

Littlewoods Pools has backed its sponsorship of the UK's 'unluckiest professional football team', East Stirlingshire FC, with a new web site.

Eaststirlingshire.com forms part of a six-figure investment by the brand to revive the club's fortunes. It currently lies bottom of Scottish League Division Three, pays its players just £10 a week and has the only unpaid manager in British football.

Littlewoods Pools has already committed to pay bonuses to players when they win a match and it is sponsoring the team's shirts, as well as funding a marketing campaign to attract fans.

The web site aims to boost revenues via an online shop and there's also a fan forum, club history, picture gallery and a download of Let's Celebrate; a song the team recorded when it was last promoted, in 1984.

Les Thomson, chief executive of East Stirlingshire FC, said: "It is something we've desperately needed for a long time and now, thanks to Littlewoods, we have one of the best sites of any club I've seen."

Dave Raywood, Littlewoods Pools head of marketing, said: "Littlewoods made a commitment to help East Stirlingshire and a site is one of the most obvious ways of doing that."