Sport

Boosting Town’s profile

Former mayor Christine Hamilton at Enfield Town's Queen Elizabeth II Stadium
Former mayor Christine Hamilton (left) at Enfield Town’s Queen Elizabeth II Stadium

Enfield Town board member Christine Hamilton talks to Andrew Warshaw about her new role

Like many other clubs up and down the country, Enfield Town FC is now taking stock of the season just ending and planning for the next campaign on the field.

When it comes to the non-league game, however, it is also all about awareness and ensuring that as many people as possible buy into the fact that there is local team on their doorstep. It helps, in Town’s case, that they have the borough’s former mayor to spread the word.

Christine Hamilton, still an elected local councillor after her tenure as the borough’s top civil administrator, may have been a familiar face in her mayoral robes. But these days, her various roles include putting all her efforts into supporting Enfield Town as the club’s first ever female board member.

A big part of that role is fundraising, not least publicising the club’s eagerly awaited gala dinner at the end of May, when none other than Tottenham Hotspur legend Gary Mabbutt is the guest speaker and for which tickets priced £60 are still available. It’s something she knows a lot about having raised £30,000 for ten charities when she was mayor.

But if you think Christine is simply a figurehead who knows little or nothing about football, think again. Brought up in Wigan, she ardently supported both the city’s football and rugby league clubs, and since moving south has committed herself to Enfield Town.

“I’ve lived around 50 years in Enfield and consider it my home town,” she told the Dispatch. “My children were born at North Middlesex Hospital and I just think it’s a fantastic place to live.

“The work the football club does in the community and helping young people, including young offenders, is something I’m passionate about. What I want to do most in the summer is get our name out there.
“Everyone living in the borough should know where we are.”

Enfield Town’s commercial director Steve Read says Christine’s contribution is invaluable in terms of awareness, sponsorship, and communication. Signposts near the club’s QE2 stadium proclaiming it as “the home of Enfield Town” was just one of her successful campaigns. Another is her link with Spurs – hence the forthcoming Gary Mabbutt evening on Friday 31st May.

“The fact that she was mayor and is still a councillor, she knows a lot of people,” says Steve.

“She probably has more contacts than the rest of the board put together. She is still learning about the club but she’s incredibly influential. In a nutshell, she opens doors.”


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