Heartbeat of the Harps Hits Hundred Thousand Mark- 500 Club Has Given Away €100,000 In Weekly Cash Prizes
The popular Finn Harps 500 Club fundraiser passed a huge milestone in January 2024 as the combined winnings pocketed by its membership passed €100,000 since February 2020.
Finn Harps FC continue as one of the few remaining fully fan owned and community rooted clubs in the Irish football landscape, and one of the major means of support directly from the fanbase to the team in the long running 500 Club fundraiser.
Having been around in various forms since the 1980s, this venture was relaunched and repackaged in 2020, but retaining the familiar form of a weekly draw in which members stand to win a share of €500 every week of the year. And since that relaunch 500 Club members have not only provided vital, reliable income for the Club, but have now shared cash prizes totalling an incredible €100,000!
Finn Harps boss Darren Murphy is now the third manager to benefit from the backing of the fans in this way and is hugely appreciative of this immediate and practical support. “I’m well aware of how hard it is for a club like this, with no wealthy owners, the nature of finances can be precarious to say the least.” Murph told club media. “But since I’ve come here it’s amazed me that the fans of the club put such consistent support behind the team and the manager, 52 weeks, 12 months of the year. And it makes a huge difference to my job.”
The reliability of this fan “investment” continues to be crucial in building the squad at Finn Park year on year. “It started last year really, where we could offer key players, and high potential young players longer term contracts. That’s not something a lot of clubs can consider at this level” Murph confirms. “That has laid a big foundation for us for this season, and we had a core of players on board already at the start of preseason”.
500 Club Coordinator Trevor Gordon has overseen the operation since 2020 and offers thanks to the members who have supported the club in this way. “We’re just hugely thankful to anyone who has been a member, even briefly, over the past 3 or 4 years. People come and go depending on their circumstances, but we’ve sat at over 300 members for a couple of years now. I think people can see the impact it makes on our first team squad, and they feel even more ownership and connection to those players, from Ollie’s time right up to Murph at the moment. And having given back €100,000 in prizes to them over those years is pretty special.”
Members can pay for 3, 6 or 12 month periods, or sign up to a recurring payment of €25/month, and as well as entry to 52 draws per year (€26,000 in prizes annually) members receive various other benefits including Season Ticket and merchandise discounts, presale access to Ireland tickets, a members pin badge, regular email updates and other occasional benefits such merchandise discounts. Meanwhile the Club once again plans to display the 500 Club logo on the team playing kit in 2024 to recognise the importance of the contribution from 500 Club members.
Entry could not be simpler and new members can sign up online in a few clicks at www.finnharps.ie/500club