The Heartbeat of Hebburn Town 

Whilst the first team performs on the pitch, a small group of volunteers have quietly dedicated decades to the club, working behind the scenes to make sure match day goes off without a hitch.

But who will keep grassroots football going in the future?

To find out I spoke to two generations of volunteers. Richard ‘Ricky’ Bainbridge, who has been in and around Hebburn Town before the club even had its current name, and Tyler Lopes who has been with Hebburn for five years, with a dream to use his time here to develop his career. I also spoke to Hebburn’s CEO and Director Stephen Rutherford to see from Boardroom level, his thoughts on the future non-league volunteering. 

I first spoke to Ricky to get a sense of history of the club itself, as I’d been told he had been in and around the club since the 1960’s. Ricky has been involved with Hebburn since 1962, when the club was a work team for the Reyrolle factory workers. Reyrolle was a former British engineering company. Ricky played as a child in the Reyrolle cup final for his school St Josephs which is still here inspiring the next generation in Hebburn today. 

Ricky Bainbridge in action
Credit: Michael Hope

“My first contact with Hebburn Town, and this pitch as a footballer, was probably 1962. When St. Joseph’s from Hebburn beat St. 
John’s from Felling in the Reyrolle Cup final, I scored a goal.” 

Reyrolle later went defunct in 1998 and was acquired by German technology company Siemens, meaning the team changed and became the Hebburn Town we see today.  

Tyler, who has been volunteering at Hebburn Town for considerably less time than Ricky, but he has big ambitions and is using the work he’s done for Hebburn Town to develop his own career and reach his goal of photographing Premier League games for his club Newcastle United.  

Tyler Lopes in action
Credit: Michael Hope

“I did photography for three years prior, I got invited down, five years later, I’m still here.” 

However, that’s not all Tyler does on a matchday, by the sounds of it, he is a jack of all trades.  

“I do. Photography, I film, clean boots. I help the media team with bits and bobs, help the players, do anything really.” 

From his photography work with Hebburn, Tyler has been able to gain valuable experience in photography and home his skills. It has even led to him being able to take the first steps towards his dream.  

“From word of mouth I got to do Newcastle United’s Women’s team for a few of games, and photograph in some dream places.” 

Ricky has been on the Hebburn Town committee since 2006, during this time, the club has gone from strength to strength. From winning the FA Vase Trophy against Consett at Wembley in 2020, the Durham Challenge Cup in 2022 and currently sitting second in the Northern Premier League, six games from potentially reaching the highest ever level the cub has played at, if they are promoted to the National League North.  

My conversation with Ricky turned to his role on a matchday, from what he told me, as a 79-year-old man, he represents the dedicated older volunteer that you come to see and admire at your local non-league club.  

“On match day, I come down to the ground fairly early, 12 o’clock is a typical time, just to see if there’s anything needs to be done and help in most areas. If I can.” 

“So, for me, personally, I mean, I’ve done a lot of grounds. I’ve produced programmes, I’ve looked for sponsorship, assisted in this, that and the other. But it needs young blood as well. It’s a great feeling to be at the top of that league, and think, well, and we’ve got people coming in who are going to take us further.”  

Through this conversation with Ricky, it became clear to me that maybe there isn’t as much young blood in non-league football at voluntary level as one would think.  

“I think that’s bound to happen as very few of the teams that we play are from today’s situation, you know, they played for tens of years, hundred years, you know, you can read, they were formed in 1960 and 1980 odd or something like that, you know?” 

However, Tyler seemed to think differently, I asked him if, personally, he thought that it is mostly an older generation who volunteer at non-league clubs. 

“Not at this club, we’ve got a mixed bag. We’ve got people as young as 18 and as old as 80.” 

Hebburn Town has been lucky enough to secure £2 million of government funding to improve facilities. This includes a new main stand and 3G pitch. These developments will generate new income streams and many new job positions and roles for local people and volunteers. 

On this development Ricky commented “
I think the new plans and the new development plans and the new opportunities which are going to come through that, you know, are going to present formal opportunities for the youngsters of this environment, to come and help.”  

Stephen Rutherford, when asked on his thoughts on the current state of volunteering in Non-League: “Non-league clubs have traditionally relied on older volunteers because they often have more free time (retired or semi-retired) They’ve also built a long-term connection to the club by being part of it for so long” 

Stephen Rutherford
Credit: Tyler’s Mission

“The future is at a bit of a crossroads moment. 

“Older volunteers stepping down due to age and ability to support due to health issues, there’s a knowledge and capability gap whilst younger people are balancing busy, flexible lifestyles and general willingness to get involved, it’s a society shift. Financial pressures on clubs also have a reliance on volunteers” 

At Hebburn Town, the future seems bright, with developments coming thick and fast.  The next generation of volunteers they’ll be able to attract will be much larger.