A COUNCIL'S £45,000 sponsorship deal is boosting Accrington Stanley's bid for the Football League -- 40 years after local authority apathy helped put the club out of business.

The club which celebrated promotion to the Conference in April has teamed up with Hyndburn Council in a three-year shirt sponsorship deal.

The package will also introduce a new range of community coaching schemes which will bring professional skills training to schools and other venues in the borough and could eventually lead to an Accrington Stanley Academy.

A series of workshops and training sessions will be held in schools throughout the year, and holiday-time soccer workshops will also be run in conjunction with in-school training to give youngsters access to a comprehensive football training.

Having made the step up from the Unibond League, Stanley are just one promotion away from a return to the Football League after 31 years in the wilderness.

The old club folded in 1962 before re-forming six years later.

Stanley chairman Eric Whalley said: "It's the first time the council have got involved in the club which is very pleasing for the directors because it shows there's a keen interest."

Mr Whalley said the club's summer soccer school would be run in conjunction with the authority, adding the deal would extend Stanley's community links.

"I'm sure it will be beneficial to ourselves eventually although it will be a long-term thing."

Council leader Peter Britcliffe said: "In the early 1960s the club went out of business for a couple of years. I remember it because I was 11 at the time.

"At the time Accrington Council, as it was known then, did not do anything. I'm happy that the council now is able to do something to help.

"This partnership deal will raise the profile of Hyndburn significantly and as Accrington Stanley go from strength to strength, the borough will be promoted to fans throughout the whole country and even abroad.

"We are a forward thinking council and fully intend to exploit the positive opportunities and community benefits associated with this partnership. Where politics is often divisive, sport is something around which we can all unite."

Opposition leader Jean Battle said: "This is a first rate partnership for both organisations."

Malcolm Isherwood, chairman of Accrington Stanley Supporters Club, said: "I am sure it will help the club. The club is a big thing for the town. The name is known throughout the world."