MP pays tribute to volunteers at Kendal Town Football Club in Parliament

On the floor of the House of Commons yesterday evening, South Lakes MP Tim Farron praised the hard work of the volunteers who run Kendal Town Football Club.

Tim was speaking during a debate on the Government’s Football Governance Bill, where he called for more distribution of the sport’s funding to be passed down to non-league clubs.

Speaking in Parliament, Tim said: “I want to pay tribute to Kendal Town - the mighty Mintcakes, as we are known - because they speak for and represent so many other non-league clubs.

“500 people a week watch the great team managed by Jimmy Marshall. Everybody at that club is a volunteer.

“What good could be done by a relatively small amount of redistribution of that money down to that level. Kendal Town have hosted 12 cup finals of various kinds at the Parkside Road ground this year. It costs them £8,000 to maintain that ground, and they get nothing for it.

“A fairer deal is absolutely essential, and, so far, this Bill is the weakest on that fair financial flow. It is important that the Government get that right beyond Second Reading.”

Later on in the debate, Tim criticised the recent decision to scrap FA Cup replays and announced he would be tabling an amendment to the bill to reinstate replays and give all competing teams – such as Kendal Town - an equal vote in deciding the organisation and rules of the FA Cup.