Support the Pars Campaign Achieves Its Goal

After just 6 short weeks, the Support the Pars campaign has achieved its goal and raised a remarkable £50,000.

The campaign, which was launched on 21st March after a number of reps from various fan groups within the Pars family came together, was set up to try and bridge the gap caused by the suspension of Scottish football following the coronavirus outbreak. This meant DAFC were set to lose out on vital income from their remaining three home games of the season, causing severe cash flow problems within the club.

An original target of £40,000 was set to ensure our beloved club would make it safely through April and May. But when the Scottish FA announced the suspension of football would be extended till 10th June at the earliest, it became clear further assistance would be required. It was now even less obvious when football might resume leaving a question mark over when season tickets for 2020/21 could go on sale, a vital income stream for the club at this time. With the club shop still locked down, sales of new replica kit would be severely affected and the SPFL decision to end season 2019/20 meant the Pars would drop to a 6th place finish and receive less prize money than might otherwise have been achieved. Taking all of this into consideration, it was decided to reset the Support the Pars campaign target to £50,000 ensuring our club would survive through June.

Supporter Liaison Officer and club Director Drew Main said “the generosity of Pars fans continues to astound me, even more so at such a difficult time for everyone. Whilst I was always quietly confident we’d achieve our goal, I never for one minute thought we’d get there as quickly as we have. I can’t thank everyone enough for all their donations and supporting all the different initiatives we’ve come up with along the way. Thanks also need to go to all those who have contributed behind the scenes and helped us reach this amazing amount”.

Club Chairman Ross McArthur added “as I have said continually over the last few weeks, I am genuinely humbled by the unbelievable efforts that our supporters will go to, in support of our club. Every single penny raised will be invaluable to us, as we try to navigate our way out of this unprecedented situation. I cannot thank everyone enough who has contributed to this fan led initiative. I can assure all of our supporters that I and the rest of the Board are working diligently to ensure we can come out of the other end of this, in the best possible shape. We remain calm and collected, but there is no doubt that there are still huge challenges ahead of us over the coming months. However, in life, it is important to remain positive.  

In the meantime, our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in our local community, as well as the wider country and we are so thankful to the outstanding work being carried out by so many key workers, who continue to put others first.”

Whilst the Just Giving page and bank account will remain live for anyone who wishes to continue to make a donation, and any items already donated to auction via dafc.net will go ahead, the Support the Pars campaign is going to take a breather. It’s anticipated further guidance on the possible resumption of Scottish football will be forthcoming from the Scottish FA/SPFL Joint Response Group, in association with the Scottish Government and health officials, over the coming weeks. Once this becomes clearer, we’ll be better placed to reassess the continuance of the campaign.