LONDON, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Cambridge City FC under-16s raised £1,260 in just seven days after becoming one of the first UK grassroots teams to take part in Spond’s new Spot the Ball fundraising competitions.

Spond, the groundbreaking app that helps grassroots sports coaches manage their squads, set up the new competition platform to help raise vital funds for teams like Cambridge City, who plan to spend the proceeds on an end-of-season social event for their players, coaches  and supporters.

“We’ve used Spond for many years and, when I heard about this new feature, I was really keen to try it out,” said Wayne Bates, the team’s head coach. “We’re always looking for new ways to raise funds, and I think it’s good when people have a little incentive, which was proven by the great response we had.

“In particular, the lads loved the personalised fundraising pages and the fact that they could compete for the highest number of entries. I introduced a bit of an incentive, with a £25 Xbox voucher for the player who sold the most, so you can imagine the excitement that caused!”

With a third of grassroots teams in the UK struggling financially, the digital fundraising solution offered by Spot the Ball is a welcome addition to the options available for coaches and admins looking to keep their teams alive. It is not only simple to set up and manage, it also provides a unique selling point – ie. The chance to win a gift card prize – for those who might otherwise not make a financial contribution.

“It’s great to hear that Wayne’s players have embraced Spot the Ball so enthusiastically, and managed to have some fun while raising vital funds for their team,” said Trine Falnes, CEO at Spond. “I was particularly excited to see the league table being used to incentivise the players to sell more entries. After all, grassroots sport is all about friendly competition.”

Having tried out the Spot the Ball fundraiser with the under-16s team, Wayne now plans to roll it out across other squads at Cambridge City FC, and also at Histon Hornets FC, where he is club chairman.

He added: “We already have further fundraisers planned and I’m going to be recommending Spot the Ball to other teams and clubs in the Cambridge area. Everyone is looking for new ways to raise money after the pandemic, and the great thing about this is the fact that it requires little or no admin on the part of the coaches. We can set it up and let the squad do the work.”

Formed in 1908 and known as ‘The Lilywhites’, Cambridge City is a successful community club with 16 squads, including  ladies, mens, junior and ParAbility teams. The under-16s teams compete in the Eastern Junior Alliance U16 Red and Brown Leagues.

With 1.4 million weekly users, Spond is the award-winning free sports team management app that takes the hard work out of team work, saving 2.5 hours per week for the average team coach. The Spond app can be downloaded for free from Apple and Android, and fundraising competitions can be set up in a couple of minutes. To find out more, visit www.spond.com.