12TH MAN LAUNCHED

The new 12th Man Initiative from Oxford United fans gets underway today, with the launch of an exciting and unique raffle which gives every United fan the chance to win a place in the official first team squad photograph for the 2009-10 season. Fans can buy tickets for £5 each to enter a draw to be held on the pitch at the Kassam Stadium at the end of the club’s Open Day on Saturday July 11th. The winning fan will meet the players at their photo call before the season starts, and will sit alongside the United players wearing the symbolic number 12 shirt, as the fans representative. Money raised from the raffle will go into the new ‘12th Man’ fund which has been set up to boost the club’s playing budget and to increase the chances of the club returning to the Football League. The 12th Man fund will be administered by a small committee of two fans’ representatives and two representatives from the club, Chairman and Manager, Kelvin Thomas and Chris Wilder. Payments will be made to cover costs which are additional to the standard playing budget – and will be primarily aimed at assisting with transfer fees, emergency loan player’s wages and the like – amounts which are not within the normal budget but might give the club an edge. Particularly in what is likely to be the crucial January transfer window. All fans’ groups are working together on the project. The fans involved in the Twelfth Man launch are working on fundraising events over the coming weeks, and we also encourage other fans to come up with ideas and events that will help. But we want to emphasise that the ‘12th Man’ is for every United fan, whether or not you are a member of any fans group. Club Chairman Kelvin Thomas on the 12th Man Initiative: “When I was first approached regarding this initiative I was impressed by the thought process and the level of detail that was put into it. I think it is a great idea and just shows once again what great fans this club has. We are happy to support the initiative and will help the fans in any way.” Tickets for the raffle are available online via the websites of Giallo Esercito, OxVox, Rage Online and Ultimate Yellows, and can also be purchased by sending a cheque payable to 12th Man Initiative to 18 Harvest Way, Witney, Oxfordshire OX28 1EG (include a phone number or email address). Tickets will be on sale at the Open Day up until the last minute prior to the draw.