foreward:

"I would first of all like to give a massive thanks to Glaxo SmithKline not only for their donation but also for the support they have given us throughout. They have shared in our vision to provide a facility that the community as a whole can benefit from. I would like to give a special thanks to Angus Council who also identified the need for such a facility in the area and their advice and support has been much appreciated.

We wanted to provide a top class surface not only for developing the best players at our club but also to allow us to showcase our new facility to the local community and allow local teams access to it. We already have an extensive football development programme, which will be further enhanced with our new pitch."

Kenny Black
Director of Football

"Continuing a tradition of supporting the local community stretching back over 50 years, GlaxoSmithKline was delighted to donate £250,000 to Montrose FC’s ambitious initiative to provide an all-weather sports surface for the region.

The project reflects the company’s mission of helping people improve the quality of their lives by enabling them to do more, feel better and live longer.

As a pharmaceutical company, much of GSK’s major sponsorship is concerned with the promotion of health and fitness and this will be embodied in the many forms of sport which will take advantage of the all-weather facility.

GSK enthusiastically supports the venture for its potential to be of benefit to the whole community and particularly for the aspects which encourage young people and women to participate in sport."

Philip Brown
GlaxoSmithCline

“It is widely recognised that volunteers are the backbone of football in Scotland. Each week thousands of Scottish people give freely of their time to support grassroots football clubs and programmes within their Communities. Individuals are involved in a wide range of activities, including coaching, running clubs and fundraising, plus many more. Quite simply, without volunteers, football in Scotland would not survive.

Also, worryingly however, recent evidence indicates that it is becoming even more difficult for clubs and community groups to access appropriate training facilities and this is a problem being tackled at all levels across the country. However, the new development at Montrose Football Club is a fantastic addition to the development of football in the Angus area. Angus's first third-generation astro turf pitch will allow all members of the local community to access good facilities all year round. As well as casual bookings the partnership between Montrose FC, Angus Council and the SFA will provide significant opportunities for all children, youths and adults to participate in excellent programmes ranging from participation centres, school programmes, club training to elite development.

We are proud to be involved with this project and look forward to the continued development of footballing opportunities for years to come.”

Mark Munro
SFA Regional Manager (East)

“The Gable Endies Supporters’ Trust is delighted to be a partner of Montrose FC in the development of the new all-weather synthetic surface at Links Park Stadium. As a community-centred organisation we feel it is essential that our senior football club should be at the heart of the local community. By providing this exciting stateof- the-art facility a new generation of sports-minded people will be drawn to Links Park and we are confident they will develop a life-long affection for the Club. A strong association between community and Club is to the mutual benefit of both – young people are the future of small clubs like ours and by providing the best facilities in the area we intend to keep our local talent in the town and meet the high aspirations of today’s youth.”

Colin Farquharson
Chairman
Gable Endies Supporters Trust

“The new all weather pitch is a tremendous asset to the town of Montrose . The club have backed up the wonderful stadium facilities with the ultimate in playing surfaces. Everybody will have a chance to play on the park and hopefully we can produce some home grown talent and a serious team that will get you back through the turnstiles and on to the terraces.”

Mike Gunn
Chairman
Montrose FC Supporters Club