Thousands take to the streets as Mansfield Town celebrate promotion to League One

Mansfield's streets became inundated with thousands of ecstatic football fans on Sunday after their side clinched a long-awaited promotion to English football's third tier. Nigel Clough joined Mansfield Town in 2020 with hopes of putting the Stags back on the map - and four years later, his successes have been greeted by a roaring crowd as the squad and coaching staff paraded the streets.

Grown men and young children alike were left in floods of tears when Clough's men secured third place with a 2-1 victory over Accrington Stanley earlier this month, leaving the Stags promoted with two games yet to play. On Saturday, April 28, Mansfield ended their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Barrow, who narrowly missed out on a play-off spot.

Fans flooded into the fan zone and car park at Field Mill from around midday, sampling the atmosphere while indulging in the burgers and booze offered by the vendors.

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Stags were in abundance as youngsters and elders alike gathered to show their appreciation, with the 2023/24 campaign providing the club's first promotion in more than a decade. Nottinghamshire Live spoke to some of the thousands around Field Mill, many of whom were displaying huge smiles despite the dreary weather.

One lifelong Stag, Des King, said: "I feel brilliant. It's super to go up again after all these years. Supporting Mansfield, you have your ups and downs - mostly down - it's not like supporting Man City when you get a championship every year - you don't get successes like this often and it's important to celebrate when it does come around."

The 66-year-old, who travels to Field Mill from Burton for every home game, added: "I was born just down the road and I've supported them since I can remember. It's massive for the town, you can see that by looking around and seeing how many people have shown up."

Another supporter, 15-year-old Keira Burton, added: "The fact we've been trying for so many years and we finally have a good squad is amazing. It's great to go up and I think we have what it takes to have a strong season next year. Hopefully, we can progress to bigger and better things.

"I've been supporting the Stags for forever really, it just means so much. The town is electric, everywhere you go people are talking about it and everybody is just so happy."

Stephen Williamson, 70, who has supported Mansfield since the 1970s, said: "It means everything to the town. The last 11 years have been a nightmare for us, but we knew it was coming - we've missed out so many times and it's unbelievable.

"It's gone from 2,500 every game to a sell-out crowd each week. If the ground was bigger there would have been more there - it just shows what it means."

Alec Harper, 67, added: "It's brilliant for the town, brilliant for the club and brilliant for the fans. It's good for everybody, I just hope it lasts. We don't wanna go straight back down again, we need to keep building and hopefully go up again. I don't think we'll get near promotion again but as long as we stay in the league then we can keep building."

A member of staff at Mansfield's new fan zone, which opened a few weeks ago, said the promotion was "huge" for the club. Emma, who works behind the fan zone bar, said: "It's huge that the club has managed promotion, it will help the club so much and the atmosphere around the town is brilliant at the moment.

"It's something the club has needed for so long and to finally get it is just amazing for the supporters. The fan zone has been in the works for a while now but we know that it's going to be even better next season, with bigger crowds expected each week which will generate more revenue for the club."

The parade departed Field Mill at around 1pm on Sunday before stopping at Sir John Cockle, Bold Forester, William IV, Marketplace and The Talbot. The bus returned to Field Mill at around 3.15pm where the players were greeted with another batch of cheering fans to cap off a magical day of celebrations.

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