Stratford Town play for the first time since the death of player Cody Fisher.
Image source, Stratford TownSchoolchildren have formed a guard of honour in memory of a footballer who was stabbed to death on a nightclub dancefloor on Boxing Day.
There was also be a minute’s silence for Cody Fisher at his club’s match.
The Stratford Town game on Saturday was the first since his death at the Crane venue in Digbeth, Birmingham.
Children from St Gregory’s School in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he coached, carried his shirt around the pitch.
The pre-match minute’s silence was followed by one of applause in the 23rd minute – matching the player’s squad number.
His shirt was retired by the club in a ceremony on Thursday.
The club’s chairman, Jed McCrory, said local schoolchildren had been invited to attend the game for free, along with those from schools where the 23-year-old taught.
He said the game on Saturday was not about playing or winning, or losing.
“It’s about normal people getting through life and going forward together and [seeing] where we end up,” he explained.
The Stratford Town manager, Gavin Hurren, said: “The lads want to do this for Cody.”
He described the player as a hard-working team player who was “honest, positive and respectful” and had been “a massive part of the dressing room”.
He added it was “a day where we can stand together, shoulder-to-shoulder, and pay our respects to one of our own”.
Team mate Dan Lafferty said it was “really tough” but the match was about “remembering Cody for the top lad that he was because he was an unbelievable person”.
Captain Will Grocott said the team had met a number of times since they heard the news, adding: “I think everyone’s still in shock, personally, for me, it still hasn’t sunk in.”
He said he and some of the other players had gone to the nightclub where Mr Fisher died to lay flowers.
He described him as “a beautiful, beautiful person”.
The football club is also backing a petition calling for “Cody’s Law” which would make metal detectors and bleed kits mandatory in clubs and at events.
T-shirts carrying the slogan were worn at the game.
In the ceremony on Thursday, players at the club said Mr Fisher’s death had left a hole in their lives and they were struggling with their grief.
The Redditch-born left back had previously played for Stourbridge Football Club and Bromsgrove Sporting Football Club.
Stratford Town has set up the Cody 23 Community Fund with the aim of helping young people get a coaching licence and to pay for their qualifications to become a referee.
Murder suspects Kami Carpenter, 21, and Remy Gordon, 22, both from Birmingham, appeared at the city’s crown court on Wednesday.
Mr Carpenter, of no fixed address, and Mr Gordon, of Cofton Park Drive, Birmingham, were remanded in custody.
The Crane nightclub has had its licence suspended for 28 days.
