Community museums officer Mary Goodwin kicks off the campaign with two of Exeter's young stars, club captain Matt Gill and striker Adam Stansfield.
Exeter City Football is working with the Royal Albert Memorial Museum to create an exhibition and archive dedicated to the beautiful game.
The St James’s Park football club is appealing for local football fans to donate memorabilia from the last century to kick-start a bid to document and celebrate its culture and history.
The supporter-led club has strong links with the community and wants to preserve memories for generations to come.
Mary Goodwin, Royal Albert Memorial Museum’s community museums officer, is working with the club to help it achieve its aim.
She said: “Exeter City Football Club is a fantastic community-based club, which has always worked closely with the local community, including youth groups. They already have a captive audience every Saturday.”
Mary hopes this initiative will provide an excellent opportunity for the museum to engage with the wider community and demonstrate how museums and heritage are relevant to everyone’s lives.
The football club and museum hope to secure funding for the project which will include oral history material with video and audio recordings of supporters, a short feature film on the club’s history, and a schools’ project where young Exeter City supporters will be interviewed using mobile phones.
An interactive exhibition is hoped to be on show to visitors both at St James’s Park and the museum when it re-opens in the spring of 2010 (the museum is currently undergoing a major redevelopment). In the meantime the feature film will be screened at a variety of venues and made available online.
Exeter City football heroes past and present are also pitching in with support for the project including local footballing legend Alan Banks, whilst Tony Badcock, a member of Exeter City Supporters' Trust Board of Society, is spearheading the club’s bid by encouraging fans to get involved.
The collaboration of football club and museum is not a new concept. The National Football Museum, Preston, reports that Portsmouth, Reading and Norwich museums have all had successful football exhibitions working in partnership with local clubs.
If you’d like to contribute, contact Tony Badcock c/o Exeter City Football Club, St James’s Park, Exeter, EX4 6PX or email: community@exetercityfc.co.uk or phone: 07792 393442.
