Bill’s wish brings young supporters to watch Raith Rovers

Bill Powrie, who passed away last year, made a generous bequest to the Raith Supporters Trust in his estate.

His legacy will help grow the next generation of Raith Rovers supporters.

A trust pokesman added: “Fans are the lifeblood of any football club, and it is often a challenge to attract younger fans through the turnstiles.

“Thanks to Bill’s generosity, the trust was able to subsidise the cost of more than 200 season tickets for young supporters this season, making it easier for them to support their local club.

“We were delighted to learn last week that almost all of the reduced priced tickets had been sold, and we hope that the young supporters go on to develop the same affection for the club that Bill felt.”

Bill, who passed away following a prolonged illness, followed Rovers for most of his life, and been a member of the trust since the Reclaim The Rovers campaign in 2005.

He started atttendingStark’s Park in the early 1970s with his friends from Kinghorn and Kirkcaldy High School.

A junior season ticket holder in those early days, on more than one occasion he was lucky enough to get his ticket pulled out of the hat to win a trip on the team bus to away matches.

George Farm’s team, in particular the scoring exploits of Joe Baker with his 34 goals in 49 appearances, cemented Bill’s affection for ‘all things Raith’ and he listed Joe, Bobby Reid, Roddy Georgeson, Malcolm Robertson, Gordon Wallace and Murray McDermott amongst his favourites.

Even when Bill moved away from the Kirkcaldy area, he would still make the effort to come back for games when he could.

The spokesman added: “We would like to express our sincere condolences to Bill’s family and thank him for his generosity.”