TV star to present Fan of the Year award
Coronation Street star Alan Halsall will be the guest of honour at this year’s Co-operative Grand Final and present the trophy to the ‘Fan of the Year.’
Halsall, who plays Tyrone Dobbs in the Manchester soap, is married to Lucy-Jo Hudson – the sister of Castleford hooker Ryan Hudson.
This season The Co-operative, official partner of the RFL and title sponsor of the Co-operative Championships, has been challenging rugby league fans across the country to nominate the sport’s most fanatic followers in order to win the 2009 ‘Fan of the Year’ award.
Alan Halsall commented: “I am so pleased to be presenting the award to the most dedicated fan. This means a lot to me and come the 4th October I look forward to meeting The Co-operative Championships rugby league fan of the year!
“I have been following the action this year and I have been so impressed by the skill and speed of the matches across the league. From what I’ve seen, there are so many people who could potentially win Fan of the Year; the fans are so dedicated.”
The ‘Fan of the Year’ will be judged on successful candidates’ contributions to the sport through ways that mirror the values of rugby league. The ‘Fan of the Year’ will have demonstrated the community spirit that binds the sport, as well as devotion to the game above and beyond club allegiance away from a match day scenario.
An expert panel of judges will be considering nominees on a range of criteria including: match day attendance, club memorabilia, community support, away match travel and whether they have brought people who have never watched rugby league before along to a game with them.
Liz Matkin, The Co-operative Group’s Sponsorship manager, remarked: “Hurry to get your nominations in, the closing date is approaching. There have been some amazing entries – it is going to be tough to pick the overall winner – I’m sure whoever wins will be a worthy winner and enjoy their moment at the Grand Final.”
Fans can send in their nominations for the Co-operative fan of the year with as much detail as possible via email to fanoftheyear@generatesponsorship.com or via post to:
Co-operative Fan of the Year,
Generate Sponsorship,
1st Floor, 1 Hardwick Street,
London
EC1R 4RB
The closing date for nominations is MONDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER, so hurry to get your nominations in.