Leven Whites’ under-nines team, which plays in the Teesside Junior Football Alliance, had the honour of leading out Middlesbrough’s players in their home game with Brentford at the Riverside Stadium on Tuesday.
The youngsters turned out to be lucky mascots too, with Aitor Karanka’s team going on to beat the London side 3-1 in a result which keeps them at the top end of the Championship.
The Whites, who are based just outside of Yarm, have enjoyed a good start to the season, and have extra reason to celebrate having been provided with an eye-catching new kit thanks to Hartlepool-based water treatment specialist Hydrochem.
Hydrochem Managing Director Bill Abbott was delighted to sponsor the team, which includes his grandson Freddie as one of the players.
Bill said: “As is often the case with the local football clubs, they didn’t have a lot of spare cash and were in need of some new kit.
“My daughter Claire mentioned it to me, and I was happy to help them out. They’ve got a good little team, and Freddie and his pals are all big Middlesbrough supporters so they were over the moon to get the opportunity to lead the team out at the Riverside.
“Hopefully they will have a good season, and both Leven Whites and Middlesbrough will have something to celebrate at the end of the season.”
Hydrochem, which is based on Graythorp Industrial Estate in Hartlepool, was set up in 1987 and is the longest serving water treatment company in the North East of England.
The firm has an impressive list of clients, including Bannatyne’s, Bourne Leisure and the Marriott Hotel chain, and has teams of specialists working at sites across the UK on a daily basis.
The firm, which expanded its team by taking on four new engineers earlier this year, specialises in inspecting water systems, diagnosing problems and then supplying solutions across the boilers, heaters, air conditioning units, pipeworks and other water-based equipment as well as the likes of swimming pools and spas.
Hydrochem also uses the innovative Safe-Water facility, which has been devised to include risk assessment of Legionella and other bacterial issues.