Ashfield footie club goes viral with away end made from Tesco trolley shelters

Teversal FC, based near Sutton, has housed supporters in the supermarket-inspired shelters for around 20 years.

But it has recently taken social media by storm as online wags joked: "If the ground isn't called Trolley Park, they're missing a trick" and "Is it £1 to get in?"

Club director Kevin Newton, 59, says people from all over the UK have visited the premises to see the stands and will often take selfies with them.

He also says that groundhoppers - fans who try to see as many games as possible at different grounds - will even say Tesco's iconic slogan "every little helps" during visits.

Kevin said: "We got quite a lot of interest from groundhoppers at first and they would take photos of them - and this was before social media.

"They would post photos on their blogs and then it would generate more interest. As social media has evolved, the stands have gone worldwide - it's absolutely mad.

"We can't paint them - they are such a folklore and it goes mad on social media. The interest never seems to stop and the groundhoppers come from all over the country.

"Groundhoppers will say it [every little helps], they will come and post about it and use the slogan. They will then get comments on their posts, saying 'every little helps' so we always get the odd few comments."

The club currently plays in the Central Midlands Alliance League's South Division, which is the 11th tier of the English football league system.

Kevin says he was helping to re-develop the ground around 20 years ago, when he stumbled across the shelters in a skip.

Kevin, of Sutton, originally planned to paint the stands red and black, to fit in with the club's colours. But the Tesco stands are now that iconic, he doesn't think he would ever change them or get rid of them.

He said: "I think people accept them and just view them as a stand. When you look at them, they are aesthetically pleasing - they don't look like a trolley park.

"It's not like they have fiberglass around them to protect you from getting wet, it's just the top and the sides.

"The plan was to put them up because they are quite far away from the other shelters, so if there was a quick shelter you could get under it.

"The plan was to paint them in club colours but we never got round to it and we can't paint them now."

Central midfielder Liam Bush, 21, thinks the away end is a “very unique” idea as "there's not any other clubs where you can stand under part of a supermarket."

Liam, of Tibshelf, said: "For the level we are at, the club has got really good facilities - including the Tesco trolley shelter. When I played for the first time, I thought it was a really unique idea, there's not any other clubs where you can stand under part of a supermarket.”