Rarely does everything fall into place so perfectly for an event: the trinity of the right people, time, and place, the stars (of football) aligning and a little sprinkling of good fortune.
Last week at Southbank City was one of those special times when everything came together perfectly. Some people were there to witness it because…they’d bought a ticket.
The event was titled “An Evening with the Last Team in Europe,” celebrating Nottingham Forest’s UEFA Cup run in the 90s, an unforgettable time for NFFC fans.
The plan was to involve as many ex-players as possible, and with the dream organising team of SBC, Stan Mitchell, Mark Crossley and Steve Chettle, we were able to call on our extensive network of NFFC associates and connections. We were lucky enough to have several players make it on the night, including Ian Woan and Steve Stone, who are currently busy with Everton in the Premier League. And everyone got to enjoy the likes of Bryan Roy, Stuart Pearce, Des Lyttle and Chris Bart-Williams and many more via pre-recorded video message.
WATCH THE VIDEO MESSAGES
We even embarked on a mission to find Andrea Silenzi by launching a twitter campaign to track him down. Our networks did not disappoint and #findsilenzi quickly became #foundsilenzi. He made contact and provided a great video message for the evening.
Undoubtedly one of the reasons for the night’s success was its support for two brilliant charities: Mark Crossley’s Walkings Brill & Footprints Nottingham. Lisa Fox, ambassador for Footprints did an incredible job organizing the auction items & golden envelope prizes. The event raised a staggering £4,357 for each charity, with the total at £8,714.
The VIP guests had it all, starting with early entry, meet & greets, and mingling with the players, as well as champagne on arrival. They enjoyed a sumptuous, luxury buffet and ajrmcmurray photography was there to take their picture – he generously donated his time for the cause.
To make the VIPs’ evening even more special, they were given front-row seats and a complimentary copy of Frank Clark’s autobiography – a delightful surprise addition to their package. With everything in place, the night was all set to go! BBC Nottingham Sport voice of #NFFC, Colin Fray, took the stage and welcomed guests to what would be an epic trip across Europe and down memory lane.
The audience relived the UEFA Cup run with the last team in Europe, making it one of the most memorable nights ever hosted by Southbank City – thank you to everyone involved.
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Thank you to our friends at Gigantic for their support and helping manage bookings – always unsung heroes.
