- Select Car Leasing proud to be Reading FC’s Principal Partner
- A season of incredible behind-the-scenes work at the club
- From charity partnerships to grassroots support
- Select looks forward to 2025-26 season with renewed optimism
(Pic SCL)
Reading FC is more than just a football club, it’s a crucial community.
And here we take a look at some of the incredible behind-the-scenes work that’s taken place thanks to the proud alliance between Select Car Leasing and the Royals.
Select has been Principal Partner of Reading FC since 2021.
After a period of real turbulence and uncertainty, the 2024-25 season ended with many positives to take away, with a new owner at the helm and with manager Noel Hunt guiding his side to within touching distance of the League One play-offs.
Besides the action on the pitch, activities off it have been equally eye-catching, particularly when it comes to the Select-Reading partnership. Here are some of the season’s highlights:
Reading FC Women’s First Team
(Credit Neil Graham)
In November 2024, Select extended its sponsorship of Reading FC to include the Women’s First Team as well as the pathway sides, working closely with the Reading FC Community Trust.
In June 2024, the side was forced to withdraw from the Women’s Championship for the 2024-25 season, with the Women’s First Team moving down to Tier 5 of the league structure.
The Women’s First Team - and its associated youth pathway - moved to the stewardship of the Reading FC Community Trust, which operates separately and independently from the club itself and which has its own governance and finances.
(Credit Neil Graham)
And that prompted Select to commit fresh funds to the Trust to support the development of the women’s game.
Dave Evans, Head of Reading FC Community Trust, said at the time: “I’d like to place on record how thankful we are to Select Car Leasing in the support they continue to offer The Trust, the Women’s team and the Football Club generally. The extended partnership makes an immediate impact on our operation and will significantly help us deliver better, more impactful programmes for women’s football locally – as well as supporting our objectives at first team level.”
Founder and CEO of Select Car Leasing Mark Tongue added: “We’re passionate about encouraging women’s and girls’ football so it was an easy decision for us to extend our sponsorship to include the women’s team.”
Things can only get Beder
(Credit JasonPix)
Conversations around mental health and suicide prevention are vitally important.
So, in February this year, Select donated its front-of-shirt sponsorship of Reading FC to the UK charity Beder for a home match against Bolton Wanderers.
Beder is a mental health and suicide prevention charity founded in 2019 by Razzak Mirjan and his family following the tragic loss of Razzak’s brother, Beder Mirjan, who took his own life aged 18 in 2017.
One of Beder’s key strengths is how it is able to fund six free online therapy sessions, of 50 minutes each via its partner Mindler, to anyone who applies for Beder Therapy Vouchers.
(Credit JasonPix)
The event attracted national publicity, as the Royals also welcomed Sky Sports film crews.
You might have also spotted the Beder team in the Reading FC Fan Zone ahead of kick off.
Razzak said at the time: “The idea is simple. We hope that by seeing the Beder logo on the players’ chests it sparks enough curiosity from supporters that they Google our name and find out what we do. It’s about kick-starting new conversations about mental health and suicide prevention and making more people feel comfortable about opening-up.”
(Watch the Sky Sports coverage below)
Select’s Mark Tongue added: “When we learned about the charity’s aims and ambitions, we jumped at the chance to put Beder in the spotlight at the Select Car Leasing stadium for this special, one-off occasion. It’s a chance for people to start thinking more deeply about mental health, to check in with friends and family, and to open-up about how they might be feeling. These aren’t easy conversations but it’s vital that we all have them.”
Tickets for Kids
(Pic SCL)
As part of its alliance with Reading FC, Select’s ‘Tickets for Kids’ initiative gives away 30 free passes for every Royals’ home match - with tickets all going to local grassroots clubs.
For many youngsters who visit the Select Car Leasing stadium with their teams as part of Tickets for Kids, it’s the first time they’ve ever seen a live professional game.
And for many, it’s also a great learning experience.
Mathew White, a coach with an Under 14s Rotherfield United team in the Berkshire County Girls Football League, said of his allocation: “I’d also like to acknowledge and applaud Select when it comes to its support of the club. Schemes like Tickets for Kids go such a long way when it comes to creating goodwill. And it’s also good to get more bums on seats.”
Christian Phillips is part of AFC Reading Under 12s Comets boys team and his son, Zak, plays for the side as a striker in the East Berkshire League.
The group received free tickets to watch Reading triumph 3-1 over Burton Albion at the beginning of October.
Christian, from Woodley, said the match atmosphere was one to cherish.
He explained: “It was a night fixture, under the lights, and the atmosphere was brilliant. Evening games always have a really special vibe.
“It was such a good opportunity for the boys - and the first time they’ve been to watch professional football as a group.
“We also treated the occasion as something of a learning and training exercise, with the lads all taking something away from the game and identifying things they could do better, such as passing and moving rather than trying to dribble around six players!
“I think, even more importantly, initiatives like this breed brand new Reading supporters. I support Reading, Reading is my only club, and I take my sons relatively frequently. I hope Tickets for Kids convinces others to invest in a season ticket next year.”
Charity football match
(Pic credit Neil Graham)
Each year, Select Car Leasing holds a charity football match at Reading FC’s stadium, with the game played out between members of Select staff (some of whom even manage to make it through 90 minutes without pulling a muscle, or worse!).
The recipient of this year’s funds - more than £1,000 - was the Reading FC Community Trust.
The pitch was also graced by none other than former Premier League footballer Jimmy Bullard, who is a long-standing ambassador for Select.
(Pic credit Neil Graham)
Ex-Fulham and Wigan Athletic midfielder Jimmy, now 46, managed to score what he described as a ‘lovely’ goal while setting-up four others as his side triumphed 7-5.
He told Select: “When you then step onto a big 11-a-side pitch like the Select Car Leasing Stadium, it feels massive. But I really enjoyed playing in the charity game - loved it. I was only supposed to play 20-25 minutes but I didn’t want to come off. If you love your football and you’re a football player at heart, it’s like a drug. I’d still be playing now if my body would allow me.”
(Pic SCL)
Community Trust Manager Dave Evans (picture above) said: “Funds raised via the charity football match will be used to support the diverse range of activities the charity delivers to disadvantaged, at risk, vulnerable, SEND participants of all ages in the local and surrounding communities in Reading and Berkshire.”
The people who make Reading FC tick
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Scratch the surface at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, and you’ll uncover some brilliant individuals who often go unheralded.
Shortly before the start of last season we had a chat with James Stabler, Head Groundsperson for the Stadium, who lifted the lid on the race against time he and his team face to overhaul and prep pitches ahead of the new campaign.
And James - a lifelong Reading FC fan who started as a groundsperson via an apprenticeship at the Club - wanted to shine a light on the hard work and science that goes into ensuring the hallowed turf remains green and luscious each week.
(Credit James Stabler)
There’s so much to consider - beyond just relaying the pitch - from fertiliser plans and weather microclimates to the threat of fungal disease.
And what do James and other groundspeople think about player knee slides during exuberant celebrations?
He laughed: “We hate them! It doesn’t take loads of work to get them back covered with grass, but depending on the time of year, the grass may not recover as quickly as you’d like. Hopefully the damage is never bad enough that you can’t just simply divot the marks back.”
Dave Kitson Coaching
(Pic SCL)
Former professional striker Dave Kitson will need no introduction to Reading FC fans, with the player having scored 56 goals for the club during two stints between 2003 and 2009.
While not a partnership with Reading FC itself, Select joined forces with Dave earlier this year to sponsor his ‘Dave Kitson Coaching’ enterprise, which offers group sessions and one-to-one training for anyone with an interest in the sport - from youngsters gunning for top flight academies, to veteran teams playing walking football.
Select presented Dave Kitson Coaching with a free Nissan Qashqai to aid coach and kit transportation and sponsors the coaches’ training tops.
Dave said: “There’s also a real synergy between Dave Kitson Coaching and Select Car Leasing. I played for Reading FC for many years, and Select isn’t just the club’s Principal partner, it was also founded by two lifelong Reading fans. I really am proud and thrilled that Select has agreed to come on board and to sponsor Dave Kitson Coaching.”
Select’s Mark Tongue added: “To have expert input from someone who has played at the very pinnacle of English football is invaluable, for both players and coaches. And as a lifelong Reading FC fan myself, we’re delighted to be able to support a former striker who is something of a club legend.”
Dave Kitson Coaching is based out of the Reading Blue Coat School, on the banks of the River Thames in Sonning, Berkshire, and makes use of the facility’s 3G pitch. It operates seven days a week and Dave will also go out to individual clubs to support both players and coaches in their session planning.
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