BLACKBURN’S professional hockey team has signed a deal with a sports kit manufacturer which will see fans able to buy match-worn jerseys.

Lancashire-based Kukri is making a special strip for the Blackburn Hawks’ cup ties.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The club will package up the one-off shirts for sale to boost its income.

A spokesman for the club said: “We believe that with our ever-growing fan base there will be a market to sell off the shirts in the very near future.

“We will be wearing the new kit again at home to Solway Sharks on Sunday when the staff of Kukri will be our guests.”

Graham Lomax, Blackburn Hawks’ PR Manager, said the concept was new for the hockey team, and added: “We’d noticed that a lot of the EPL and Elite League Teams had one-off kits made for various occasions such as Valentine’s Day or Christmas and we thought well, why not?

“We will wear the kit for the six cup games only – we needed to come up with a design and colour scheme that enabled us to do this and be able to wear it for both home and away fixtures, so we sat down with Kukri and their design team and came up with the shirt.

“We all love it, the players love it and we know our fans will to.”

Kukri, based at Walton Summit, supplies kits to various teams and sports, including recently providing all kit and apparel for Team England at the Commonwealth games in Glasgow.

Katy Allen, of Kukri, said: “We are delighted to have this partnership with The Hawks and look forward to creating more exciting kit for the players.”

Meanwhile, the club has taken on a community liaison officer, Chris Riley, a fan for 22 years, to safeguard the future of the sport in the town. A spokesman for the National League outfit said: “He has extensive knowledge and contacts within the sport development industry, and most importantly schools and community groups in the Blackburn area.

“Chris and his team will be working on projects within the communities of Blackburn with Darwen and surrounding areas, giving people in those communities the opportunity to become part of the Hawks family.”

If you can help Chris phone him on 07740 367 425.