A non-league football club hope their FA Cup run can continue the club’s uptick in attendances.

Horsham FC will compete in the FA Cup First Round for the second year in a row on Saturday when they travel to Chesterfield, after taking on Barnsley last season.

It is all part of positive change in the past few years according to committee chairman Ian Burlinson, who is confident some classic cup magic can help get even more people down to Fusion Aviation Community Stadium.

“We get decent home crowds now, but what the cup runs have done is increase the awareness of the team and the club in the town,” he said.
“If you walk in and you’ve got a Horsham top on, someone will go ‘What was the score? How did they get on?’

“Different pubs around town have our scarves in their pubs, which is great. It never used to happen before. The whole thought process and mentality towards the football club has changed massively in the town in the last few years.

“The cup run at Barnsley and then the replay was massive. As a football club, we changed for the better and we moved forward. All the changes for a club our size need to move forward.”

Horsham played Barnsley twice last season, drawing 3-3 with the side away from home in the First Round before losing the replay 3-0 at home.

Yet, it was a result that didn’t matter, with Barnsley fielding an eligible player and forfeiting the result. Horsham subsequently fell to Sutton United in the next round.

A trip to Chesterfield is their latest reward after battling through the qualifying rounds, which included another victory over near-neighbours Dorking Wanderers.

Burlinson added: “First round of the FA Cup, you can go to different grounds, I’ve been to Barnsley, been to Carlisle, and now Chesterfield. 

“It’s a reasonably new modern stadium, and it is a day out. It’s an opportunity to go out, and treat it as a day out. The 90 minutes of football is a bonus, but the experience of the whole day will make the day.”

Burlinson is one of a number of volunteers who will travel up to Chesterfield this weekend, and he highlighted the tireless work of those behind the scenes as key to the club’s success.

He said: “Without the volunteers at Horsham Football Club, all the committee, all the match day volunteers, everyone who helps, we wouldn’t be the club we are. A lot of people give up a lot of free time. On a match day we need a lot of volunteers. 

“It’s about being a part of something. It’s a great way to meet new people, giving back something to the local community. It’s a great way of learning new skills, it’s so many more things than just a club. It’s a community within a community.”

Volunteers are a key part of any non-league club, with league sponsors Pitching In making it easier than ever to get involved through their new Volunteer Hub.

And Burlinson revealed the Hornets never forget how lucky they are to have an army of people giving up their time to keep the club running.

“The club is bigger than just the men who play in the first team, you have all the other bits that go around, the people behind the scenes that no one really notices,” he added.

“The volunteers work hard. They work hard at the home games, and they are rewarded for what they do.

“Volunteers make clubs money. Without volunteers, you would have to pay for the stewards, and they are expensive. You save that money that is then invested into the teams and the grounds.

“It’s one of the key things I say to the players; ‘Don’t forget that. The volunteers play a key role to allow you to play for this football club, to play on that pitch. Without them, you wouldn’t be here’.”