Bromley Football Club are proud supporters of the Chartwell Cancer Trust, with members often coming along to first team fixtures as mascots, or simply to cheer the team on. However, on 20th May, we invited them to join us on a historic day at Wembley Stadium, a gesture which was welcomed with open arms. The charity released an article about their day with us, which can be found below.

On Sunday 20th May, Bromley Football Club played in the Buildbase FA Trophy Final against Brackley Town on the hallowed turf of Wembley Stadium. The build up to the game was very exciting, with the entire borough recognising the achievement of their local side and getting behind the team.

Over 18,000 tickets were sold to Ravens supporters and the match was played out in front of a record breaking 31,000 strong crowd. We were so very proud to have been a part in such a momentous occasion.

Bromley Football Club are loyal supporters of the Chartwell Cancer Trust, in particular, the local childhood cancer support group. We had been invited to the Club and Academy many times for our group parties, bucket collections on matchdays, as well as being player mascots!

As proud supporters of Bromley, we felt it was only right to make the journey to Wembley to cheer the team on. We therefore organised a coach to take the Bromley Childhood Cancer support group to the game.

Once the Club learned of our planned trip, they contacted Group co-ordinator Michelle Simpson to see if some of the children would like to be mascots, and accompany the players on their walk out to the pitch. They also offered us their flag bearer places! This was such a wonderful surprise and a once in a lifetime opportunity. We were delighted and honoured to have been asked to have been asked, and we knew for certain that the children and families would love to be involved on their favourite team’s special day.

The game was electric! We thought we had it in the bag for most of the game, after Omar Bugiel’s goal in the first half put Bromley 1-0 up, until the very last minute of the game, where Brackley scored a stoppage time equaliser to make it 1-1. The game went through extra time with no further goals scored, so we then had the very painful experience of a dramatic penalty shootout. You could feel the tension in the stadium and the pressure the players were under. Sadly, Bromley lost 5-4 on penalties and we really felt for them. However, the Ravens did a great job, they played their socks off and despite the result, they did us all proud. It was an unforgettable day and a memorable end to the season for the Club, for the players who fulfilled their dreams to play at Wembley and for the Bromley fans.

Thank you to everyone at the Club who allowed us to be part of this incredible experience. Well done, lads and best of luck for next season!