Tributes to Mansfield football club stalwart

Bosses at Rainworth Miners Welfare FC have paid tribute to their vice-chairman following his death at the aged of 55.
Rainworth Miners Welfare FC have paid tribute to vice-president Kim Wright who has died from cancer.Rainworth Miners Welfare FC have paid tribute to vice-president Kim Wright who has died from cancer.
Rainworth Miners Welfare FC have paid tribute to vice-president Kim Wright who has died from cancer.

The club said Kim Wright, also a vice-president of the Wrens, lost his long battle with cancer at Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre on Thursday.

Les Lee, club chairman, said: ““We’ve known for some time that Kim’s time with us was limited.

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“It was something he accepted philosophically, but his loss will leave a big hole in the club which will be impossible to fill.

“We send our love and our deepest condolences to his wife Anne and to all his family.”

A minute’s silence was held in Mr Wright’s memory before Rainworth’s game with Bridlington on Saturday, which the visitors won 3-2.

The club said, on its website: “It was felt that he would not have wished for Saturday’s match against Bridlington Town to be postponed, so the game went ahead as normal,

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“The son of former Rainworth guru the late Alan Wright and his wife Eileen, Kim played as a central defender for the club in the mid to late 1980s.

“Following his playing days he served the club quietly behind the scenes, scorning any official position, until taking over as chairman in 2012, a position he held until stepping down to allow new investment in the club by solar panel company Green Energy, with Mark Hawkins taking over.

“When Mr Hawkins left the club to return to Mansfield Town, Kim continued to work tirelessly for the Wrens, refusing the post of chairman because of his illness but serving as vice-chairman, while his company, Mansfield Sprinkler Services became major sponsors.

“He carried on attending matches for as long as his health allowed, just weeks before his passing, and even then remained heavily involved right until his final few days.

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