TRANMERE Rovers Football Club’s Community Tickets scheme has officially been renamed in honour of Nate Gidman, the five-year old supporter who sadly passed away earlier this year following a battle with brain cancer.

The scheme will now be known as Nate’s Tickets and will continue to provide a football experience through organised charities and groups to families who would otherwise not have the opportunity due to financial or other circumstances. Since launching the scheme seven years ago Rovers have welcomed 23,500 people to Prenton Park.

The club has remained in regular contact with Nate’s parents, Phil and Nicola, and are honoured that they have agreed for the ticket scheme to take Nate’s name.

Chairman, Mark Palios, said:“Our fans have embraced our community tickets scheme ever since it was launched, helping thousands of people to come to Prenton Park and enjoy time together as families who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to.

“The kind donations of our fans have made a wonderful difference to so many people across Wirral and I thank them for their exceptional support.

“Initially designed to enhance disadvantaged children’s childhoods it has been expanded to recognise that adults also can miss out on things that most of us take for granted like coming to a game of live professional football, so Community Tickets, though strongly focussed on families, can be distributed to anyone in proven need, regardless of age.

“It is an initiative particularly close to my heart and was inspired by my own personal experiences as a child, when someone was kind enough to buy me my first ever match ticket which was to an FA Cup final!”

Rovers striker Kane Hemmings is on board as ambassador for the scheme and has already pledged a donation along with the rest of the first team in support of Nate’s Tickets.