Bamber Bridge is one of the crown jewels of local football - the club needs support to survive and thrive

While Preston North End will forever be a great name in the history of world football, Brig has grown in prominence from humble beginnings to co-exist with its illustrious neighbour.

A small village situated a couple of miles south-east of Preston, Bamber Bridge boasted a football club in the late 19th century although the modern-day club has its roots in the early 1950s.

A local amateur outfit which played in the Preston and District League, Brig’s domination of the local football scene during the 1970s and 80s was the start of a remarkable rise up the football pyramid.

Having moved into their present-day home Irongate in 1987, Brig enjoyed stints in the West Lancashire League and the North West Counties League.

But those years were just the preludes to establishing themselves as a force to reckoned with in the semi-professional Northern Premier League (NPL) in the 1990s.

Theoretically at one point in the mid-1990s, the club had risen to being just one step away from the Football League.

Unfortunately, despite winning the NPL Premier Division in 1996, they were prevented from competing in the Football Conference – the top-flight of non-league football – because their Irongate home was deemed not up to requirement for English football’s fifth tier.

Interestingly at the same time, PNE won the Third Division title to lift themselves out of the bottom rung of the Football League.

In the three decades since, amid ebbs and flow, Brig have maintained their position in the NPL.

Although the pyramid has been restructured over time, Brig are still only three steps away from League Two.

However, despite having a history to be proud of, the future is unknown and the club openly admits it is teetering on the brink of extinction.

The rising costs of semi-professional football means Brig – who have commanded an average league attendance of just over 400 this season – are struggling to pay their players’ wages along with the bills.

Over the past week, they have set-up a GoFundMe page to help them cover a shortfall in income for this season which is estimated to be around £30,000.

However, longer term the club needs greater investment and more revenue streams – even if it’s just more clicks of their turnstiles on a match day or a local business sponsoring a match ball.

Club volunteer Mellisa Garswood has urged the local community to rally around and support Brig not just for the short-term – but for good.

She insists the club will leave a huge void in the local footballing landscape if the unthinkable was to happen.

"We try to sell ourselves as a community club,” she said. “We want new people to come in but we want them to keep coming back.

"I think the big issue is people don’t think about Bamber Bridge. I say, ‘Come down and see what we’re all about. See the spirit of the club when you walk through the turnstile’.

"You will quickly find that you will get to know everybody, it’s got that personal touch. When I go to away games, I go on the players’ coach. You get to know them, you get to know the manager Jamie Milligan.

"Jamie’s a great bloke, he always has time to stop and chat to the fans.”

Over the summer, Brig invested heavily in their playing surface and the budget required to keep the team competitive amongst better resourced clubs in the NPL is a huge strain on the club’s finances.

"We had to invest quite a bit in the pitch,” she said. “So that was around £25,000.

"The player budget has risen. I think the problem you have now is there are clubs like Bury and Macclesfield who can offer player contracts.

"We can’t offer contracts because then we are tied-in and we have to pay them.

"It is just the challenge of facing other clubs who have got investors.”

While Garswood – who works as a solicitor for law firm Watson Ramsbottom – admits Brig can’t compete with professional outfits like North End with regards to attracting investment and sponsorship, she believes smaller businesses can benefit from a link-up.

"We have lost the commercial aspect and that is where we are falling short,” she added. "We are not Preston North End and we can’t get the big investors.

"If there was a big investor, we would welcome them with open arms but I think you have to start small, look after them and build from there.”

To donate, access the website https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-bamber-bridge-football-club