Mark Hollis from Stevenage Supporters Association looks ahead to new season

WITH promotion in the bag, last season goes down in history as the first time ever that a Stevenage team was promoted to the Football League, winning the Blue Square Premier by an impressive 11 points.

Now, with little under two months until the start of Boro’s first foray into npower Football League 2, it’s time to look ahead to what we can do as fans to help ensure that we retain our competitive edge in the coming seasons.

Following promotion, Stevenage will play host to some household names next season, including the likes of Bradford City, Southend United and Wycombe Wanderers as well as renewing acquaintances with Barnet, Burton Albion and Aldershot Town who many will remember from our non-league days.

Chairman Phil Wallace and manager Graham Westley have set out their stall early by claiming that the 2010-11 season is not just a season for consolidating our place in League 2, but is instead a chance to push on and challenge for honours at the next level. Something which came as music to the ears of the long-standing supporters!

The challenge facing Boro going in to next season brings with it some exciting prospects, with an early highlight being last week’s fixture release being brought to Stevenage, where the opening matches were announced and broadcast live on Sky Sports from The Broadhall Suite.

These games will see us making our league debut at home to old Conference sparring partners, Macclesfield Town, and following it up a week later with a trip to Valley Parade to take on ex-Premiership outfit Bradford City.

In between these games, there is the small matter of a visit from last season’s FA Cup Finalists, Portsmouth in the Carling Cup.

This game is sure to attract a bumper crowd in to The Lamex with Portsmouth expected to bring a huge number of their notoriously vocal fans (plus the bloke with the bell!) to the game and we really need to do what we can to encourage the whole of Stevenage to get behind the team and roar the lads on to the next round! We know from seasons passed that our vocal support gives the team a boost and our noise will be needed to spur the lads to victory over a team who, if you remember, were only playing AC Milan in Europe two years ago!

Whilst these are exciting times it is imperative that everyone, whether you be a long standing supporter or a local with a passing interest, does their utmost off the pitch to help push Stevenage Football Club onto even greater things, and what better to way to show your support than to join the official Stevenage FC Supporters’ Association?

For just �12 for adults (reduced rates apply for Senior Citizens (Over 60’s), U18s and Juniors), joining the SA offers a range of benefits including a 10% discount in the Club Shop, �1 off admission prices when you purchase a Flexi-Ticket, reduced travel costs and entry to a free match day ticket draw.

As well as this, all SA members receive ticket priority for cup games, so why not join up now and ensure that you can get your hands on a ticket for the Portsmouth match, which will undoubtedly sell out?

On top of these benefits to individual members, the funds generated by the SA membership fee go directly to Stevenage FC with approximately �240k being exchanged for shares since its inception in 1994. The money raised has been spent on improving the facilities at the ground including the tea bars, toilets, ground equipment, security and a reserve/youth team minibus.

All of this means that your subscription fee directly influences what happens at your club so please visit the Stevenage FC SA website to apply for your membership today and really throw your support behind the team as it pushes to make an impact in League 2!

Please note that the SA AGM is due to take place on June 30th with all existing members welcome to attend.