Mersey Marauders FC and Sefton UNISON Announce New Partnership

Mersey Marauders FC and Sefton UNISON are delighted to announce a new two-year partnership. This mutually beneficial partnership will help Mersey Marauders FC to grow, providing opportunities for more LGBT+ people to play football across Merseyside. It will also help promote the benefits of UNISON membership to Mersey Marauders FC players, friends and fans, as well as the wider LGBT+ community. 

The new partnership will see Sefton UNISON feature on the front of Mersey Marauders FCs new shirts, as well as training kits and across all online content. Funding for the football club will allow them to maximise access to football for members of the LGBT+ community - subsidising kit, travel, equipment and pitch hire. It will also help to fund recruitment campaigns to bring more people into the club from across Merseyside. 

Mersey Marauders FC are an LGBT+ inclusive football club, providing a safe and inclusive space for LGBT+ people from across Merseyside to play football free from discrimination. They offer a range of opportunities for competitive football (in national and regional LGBT+ leagues, and a local FA league) at a variety of levels, as well as casual football at weekly training sessions, and a growing sociable community of LGBT+ people. 

Francis Wight, Chair of Mersey Marauders, commented ‘We are delighted to be entering into this new partnership with Sefton UNISON. They are a trade union that shares our values and I’m excited about the mutual benefits of this partnership in the coming years. We are confident that this funding will help us to reach even more LGBT+ people from across Merseyside, particularly those who may not have engaged in football before’. 

Sefton UNISON have over 4,000 local members, working in a variety of roles within schools, colleges & academies, Sefton Council, care sector, charities and privatised Public Sector Support Services. Sefton UNISON is a Campaigning Union and supports local, regional, national and international campaigns promoting social justice & rights for all workers.

Ged Simons, Sefton UNISONs LGBT+ Officer said 'Sefton UNISON is proud to be supporting this brilliant project that spreads a positive and inclusive message of diversity. We look forward to success on and off the pitch and are grateful for the chance to be part of something that will make a real difference to people's lives in our community.’