By Dave Bennett, Exeter City Supporters Club.
Some thirty years or so ago, I was stood on the old open Big Bank when Steve Birley, who was then Commercial Manager, called me down and asked if I would help sell tickets for the new draw that the club were launching.
That was the start of the 50/50 half time draw. Initially this was a club run fundraiser but after a few years it fell to the Supporters’ Club to take it on and to say it’s gone from strength to strength is somewhat of an understatement.
For many years it was administered by myself and Chris Woolcott, but following his sad passing last year I have taken on the role with our fantastic team of sellers.
Those who watch from the Adam Stansfield Stand will know John Brock, those who come in via the Jungle Path will meet Darren Fox and his son, the Big Bank is served by the one and only Mo. Holly, Ashley and new addition AJ look after the Nevada Stand, Verity and her Dad, Dave Knight cover all areas within the ground and Jamie and Brooke are responsible for all the corporate and sponsors areas upstairs. We are also helped on occasions by Roger Kendall and Mike Ellis.
Each game the sellers return to the matchday office where the money is counted and divided equally between the club and the prize (50/50). The club’s 50% share is directed into our youth academy and I don’t need to tell supporters the real worth of that contribution.
If you have bought a 50/50 ticket, you have help support the likes of Ollie Watkins, Ethan Ampadu, Matt Grimes and the many other young players who have progressed from our academy and gone on to further their careers and bring huge transfer fees, helping the long-term stability of the club we all love. The academy continues to produce talented youngsters, so every ticket you buy plays a part in their development.
In the early days prizes were £250 - £300 per game but this has steadily risen over the years to the prizes that we’ve seen this season. The largest of which was a rollover prize of £2,800. Some years ago, Chris and I set ourselves a target of raising £20,000 for the club in a season.
This was finally achieved last season when we raised a fantastic £21,400. Remember that is £21,400 for the academy and £21,400 in prizes. £42,800 in total. This year however we broke that record by raising a staggering £24,927 for the academy and giving away the same amount to lucky winners throughout the season (£49,854).
The Supporters’ Club took overall control of the 50/50 in the 2009/10 season and since that date until our last home game we have raised a total of £227,752 pounds for the academy and next season we would like to break the £250,000 total.
This will take an enormous effort from our sellers and from you who support the draw by purchasing your tickets each week, but we will give it our best shot and hopefully celebrate that fantastic achievement by the end of 2024/2025
So finally, a huge thank you to our small team of sellers for their help and support, and of course every single one of you who buy your tickets at each game, and maybe the next winner could be you!
If you would like to join our team please speak to one of our sellers who will pass on your details for me to contact you.