Ninety-year-old Ken Porter saw Workington Town’s first ever match in 1945 and his loyalty was rewarded with the honour of officially renaming the club’s home as the Fibrus Community Stadium.
As a teenager he would walk from Pica to matches, but during the renaming ceremony, he had a very different experience, being treated as a VIP and named the guest of honour.
Ken was given lifetime membership of the club, presented with a shirt by head coach Anthony Murray and cheered by the crowd as he cut the ribbon on the pitch to rename the stadium.
“It’s good of the club to do this – I have loved Town all my life,” said Ken, who still goes to every game and loves watching other sports too.
He had to miss Town’s 1952 Challenge Cup Final victory because he was working in the RAF, but says he has many happy memories from his seven decades of cheering on his beloved Town.
He was accompanied on to the pitch by his twin sons Graeme and Bryan and great-grandson Kaiden.
Bryan said: “This has been such a special day for the whole family. We are all proud of this honour for my dad – all four generations of our family are Workington Town mad, but my mum has never been to a game. She likes to spend her Sundays baking all day long.”
Also being inducted as a lifelong club member was Joe Hill who has been supporting Town for 72 years.
Joe and Ken were able to enjoy a full day of rugby league with the newly formed Workington Town Ladies playing their historic first ever match in the sunshine and two sessions of kids’ rugby which helped swell the crowd to 1,395 for the men’s victory over Rochdale.
The double header match day marked the launch of Fibrus broadband as the new official sponsor of the stadium alongside sponsoring the men’s and women’s teams.
Graeme Peers, director and commercial partnerships manager at Workington Town, said the cash injection would transform the club.
He said: “The deal will allow us to change the business model and help the women’s team get established. We will be able to employ paid professionals on the commercial side and in our community development. We aim to have a representative, a skilled coach, who can work with schools and colleges to nurture young players.”
The Ladies team were delighted with their win and celebrated in style on and off the pitch after a 38-16 victory over Newcastle Thunder with Lauren Bold scoring the historic first ever try for the new team.
Captain and player of the game Laura Ivison said: “We are all absolutely buzzing after that. We were a bit nervous to be playing in front of a crowd, but we couldn’t have wished for a better start.
“The crowd was unbelievable and we just can’t wait for the next game.”
Men’s team head coach Anthony Murray said he was proud that Workington Town now had a ladies team and praised the women for the hard work they had been putting in on the training pitch and in the gym.
“Workington has had a good week. The investment from Fibrus has created a massive buzz around the place.
“I think the renaming of the stadium to Fibrus Community Stadium is spot on because that’s what we are trying to do here. We’ve had the kids playing and the girls making history today. We’ve had three local young girls teams playing today and now they have something to aspire to.
“It all fits in with what we are doing at the club. I’m delighted – it’s a proud moment.”
The sunshine certainly helped with the feel good atmosphere with the club’s largest crowd of the season enjoying a full day of rugby and two victories to celebrate.
Mandy Wood, of Whitehaven, was enjoying the day with her family. “There is such a good feeling around the club at the moment. The ladies’ game was such a good match and seeing investment come into the club is massive for us.”
Bev Steele and her husband Steven, of Maryport, enjoyed watching their son, Malik, play in the men’s team and were full of praise for the Workington Town’s community focus.
“The club has really pivoted its position across the board to include youngsters and now the women’s team. They’ve got a real connection with the grassroots.
“Rugby league in West Cumbria is one community and when we all come together to support teams and the sport it’s phenomenal.”
