Football fans who do not usually have the opportunity to experience a live match will be able to take in the action at Pittodrie Stadium this season.

Aberdeen-based charity TLC has partnered with Aberdeen Football Club Community Trust (AFCCT) to sponsor a box in the Main Stand for a second year.

TLC will invite local clubs, community groups and organisations to enjoy a match from the comfort of the box, while AFCCT participants will also benefit from being able to use the private space.

TLC’s vision is to help people of all ages who suffer from social isolation and deprivation across the North-east of Scotland. Its initiatives include homeless outreach work, running foodbanks, operating several school breakfast clubs and primary school age youth projects.

Organising volunteers to help with community projects such as school fayres and parks cleanup has played an important part in TLC touching the lives of more than 100,000 people in the North-east since 2002.

Richard Brooks has been chairman of TLC for the past 17 years.

He said: “We are so pleased to be working in partnership with AFCCT to sponsor a box at Pittodrie for the second year running.

“We have made it our mission to focus our efforts back into Aberdeen, supporting communities and local people. This partnership allows us to once again bring reality to one of core values: of ‘giving people a hand up, and not just a hand out’.

“This offers an amazing experience, regenerates aspirations and gives an opportunity to those who may not otherwise have been able to attend a match in this way. Richard added: “We are looking forward to inviting different charities and groups to the box and hope that our partnership with AFCCT will help to emphasise the importance of making experiences such as going to a football match accessible for all.”

AFCCT operates as a charity independently of Aberdeen Football Club and aims to provide support and the chance to change lives for the better throughout the North-east.

The charity engages with more than 20,000 participants each year across 60 programmes and initiatives, with volunteers from the organisation delivering more than 5,000 hours of free
community support in their spare time.

Sponsoring the box breaks down many barriers and provides a relaxed and secure environment for individuals, families and groups to see an Aberdeen match which they can treasure and which they may not have had the opportunity to experience before.

Debra Christie, Community Lottery and Fundraising Officer at AFCCT, added: “The first year of the partnership with TLC was a huge success and we are delighted to be continuing the agreement for the new season. It enables us to give support to many of our own participants as well as other local organisations and individuals.

“People who have dementia, autism, mental health illness or other conditions may find it difficult to attend a football match so by offering them a quiet space in the comfort of a box they can still experience the excitement on the pitch.”

For more information, visit www.tlc.org.uk or www.afccommunitytrust.org