Aberdeen FC is proud to be a thriving, community driven football club who aim to have a positive impact far beyond the 90 minutes on the pitch

. We recognise our unique standing in the local community and appreciate the importance of giving something back as we actively engage with the local communities that support and sustain the club.

Here is a small taster of the recent activity that various representatives of the football club have undertaken this past while in our efforts to interact with our local community.

Spree book were invited along to Pittodrie to present a signed shirt to their top Fundraiser. Once again, Kingswells Primary School were in top spot, selling an amazing 285 Spree Books and raising £1710 for their PTA funds. This is Aberdeen’s 15th Anniversary edition and to date have fundraised with the sale of Spree books through local schools and community groups £1.9 million.

Throughout March, Primary Schools from Aberdeen took part in a Healthy Lifestyles Programme which was funded by the Scottish League Cup Fund. The activity was split into two sections for the visits: One group received a coaching session with AFC in the Community coaches at Aberdeen Sports Village whilst the other half of the group received a health and nutrition workshop. The workshop included the children completing a food diary and comparing it to first team player Peter Pawlett’s food diary during a typical week.

AFC had a special guest along to the Dumbarton game on the 8th March, young Birrhanu who came to his first ever football game. He was born in Northern Ethiopia and has suffered a lot in his young life, having been born with severe scoliosis and without a right forearm. He had lifesaving surgery on his spine in the USA. He was adopted by a local family and is now a British citizen and is football mad!

AFC in the Community had a visit from Woodlands School, which is a local authority school for children with severe and complex learning difficulties. The school wanted to give the young people a wide range of experiences and feelings, so they were invited for a tour of Pittodrie and a look at the European Cup Winners Cup and the League Cup Trophy as well.

AFC in the Community also had a visit from Cults Primary School towards the end of March, who wanted some assistance in their school ‘time travel’ project. They spent the day watching videos of Aberdeen’s journey to Gothenburg, and also put Neil Simpson on the spot with a 25 minute Question and Answer session. The school also got a chance to see the League Cup Trophy, which rounded off a fantastic trip for the classes.

AFC gave every child that attends their Football Centres programme 2 complementary tickets for the Merkland Family Stand for our game against Kilmarnock on Saturday 22 March. Around 700 children received the offer of tickets for attending one of our 35 centres which run weekly throughout term time. The club also distributed 500 tickets to local Grassroot Clubs from Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire to come along to the game against Kilmarnock.

AFC in the Community took the Scottish League Cup out on tour again in the build up to the Cup Final on the 16th March. The trophy visited participants at our Aberdeen Sports Village Football Centre, Junior Matchday Club, Walking Football and TechnoGym session amongst others.