Stockport County AFC to change English football forever

Mon 11th Oct 2010 | Marketing & PR

Stockport County become the first football club in Britain to award an appearance number to every player. Plans in place to create history, by becoming the first football club to add this number to the club shirt.

The supporters of Stockport County AFC have announced that on Saturday 16^th October 2010, they will launch the Stockport County Appearance Number (SCAN) Scheme, which is designed to emphasise and strengthen the special relationship between the supporters, the players and the Club.

In their 127 year history, Stockport County have had more senior players than any other English Premiership or Football League club (1284 players). To celebrate this fact, every player who has ever played a senior game for the Club has been issued with a unique SCAN. This represents the order in which they have made their senior first team debut and once issued will remain with the player forever.

It is believed that the only other British sporting team to issue and to add this type of number to match worn shirts is the England and Wales Cricket Board, who award an appearance number to all Test cricketers.

At Edgeley Park on Saturday 16^th October 2010, Stockport County AFC will play Barnet FC in an npower League 2 fixture. The game will signal the launch of this ground breaking scheme, which will feature the following elements:

• A specially commissioned SCAN certificate has been produced to formally recognise the achievement of playing for the first team. This will record details of the date and opponent against whom the debut was made.
• A presentation evening will take place immediately after the game. At this event Stockport County supporters will present individual SCAN certificates to over fifty current and former players (and families of former players) covering a remarkable 9 decades of the clubs’ history.
• These certificates will be produced for all future eligible County players and will be presented on debut. It is the intent of the Scheme’s Guardians to present a certificate to all 1284 eligible players and families.
• Eligible players (including any former County players playing for the opposition) will have their SCAN listed in the match programme.

It is also announced that the Scheme’s Guardians are currently in discussion with The Football Association and The Football League in order to gain permission to add this historic SCAN to the match worn shirts of all eligible players. This will be the first time in Britain that any senior Club will have done this. The Club will continue to add this number to shirts for all subsequent senior fixtures.

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