Yahoo News Gateshead FA trophy victory celebration to be held following 'magnificent achievement'
An official celebration will be staged to honour Gateshead FC's FA Trophy victory, it has been announced.
Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon has confirmed plans to mark the club's Wembley triumph with an event at the International Stadium – and possibly even an open-top bus parade. After the club's penalty victory over Solihull Moors last week, councillors were told on Friday that a civic celebration is in the works.
While details of the event are yet to be finalised, Coun Gannon told the local authority's annual meeting: “For members' information, I did on behalf of the council convey our best wishes to the chairman of the club immediately before the game, for which he thanked us, and I conveyed our congratulations after the game, again for which he thanked us.
“There have been some discussions between the club and the council about how Gateshead might celebrate that magnificent achievement, although the details are not completed yet.
“There may be some details about an open-top bus, but there will be a celebration at Gateshead Stadium and there will be a civic event attended by the mayor on behalf of the council, for the players, their families, and club officials to celebrate the achievement.”
The announcement was made in the presence of councillors and the club’s vice-chairman, Bernard McWilliams. The historic trophy win was a moment of ecstasy for Gateshead FC and its supporters, after a dramatic few weeks for the Heed that has seen it embroiled in a saga involving the council and the English Football League (EFL)..
Despite qualifying for the National League play-offs, the club was barred from a shot at promotion due to concerns that it does not have a guaranteed 10-year lease on its council-owned stadium.
The move prompted an outcry and protests from fans outside the International Stadium and Gateshead Civic Centre, while Coun Gannon at the time stated that “there is no reasonable reason to exclude the club from membership of the EFL”.
The council is in the process of seeking a new operator to take over the stadium in an effort to cut costs and, despite civic centre leaders insisting that they offered assurances that the club would be granted the 10-year lease if promoted, the uncertainty over the venue’s future has proved too great for the football authorities.
