WITH a world-famous name, a proud past and now being back on the brink of the Football League from which they were cruelly pitched in a cash crisis more than 40 years ago, Accrington Stanley are already the pride of sports fans throughout East Lancashire.

They have lived the dream of returning to the big time ever since the club re-formed in 1968 and climbed on to the lowest rungs of the Lancashire Combination. But how marvellous it is to see their ambition and belief in themselves being shared by Hyndburn Council, not just with words, but firm financial support.

It may be that in signing a three-year, £45,000 sponsorship deal with Stanley, the council will see its name and the area's image promoted on the side's shirts everywhere the Reds play. But it also amounts to recognition of how much a town's soccer club is part of the community and, for that reason, deserves backing by the council.

And it's a two-way deal. For in return, Stanley will be reinforcing that link with a new range of community coaching schemes that will bring professional skills training to schools and other places in Hyndburn and may even lead to the creation of an Accrington Stanley academy.

The action by the council will have the support of soccer fans everywhere -- though those with longer memories might wonder why the town hall didn't rally to Stanley's rescue in 1962 when they suffered the ignominy of being the first-ever club to quit the Football League in mid-season.