'I can't stop going': fan becomes club director

A football fan who has travelled thousands of miles in cars and ferries to watch his non-league club has become its newest director.

Paul Rushton is now a non-executive director of Newport IW FC, which competes in the 9th tier of English football.

Mr Rushton grew up on the Isle of Wight and followed the club as a child, before moving away to Oxfordshire after finishing university.

He said his ambition as a director was to help the club secure a new ground, after it had been ground-sharing for the past six years.

Mr Rushton said he had been unable to resist the lure of returning to his boyhood club after seeing them play in Witney, Oxfordshire, near his home.

"I've been a fan all my life," he told BBC Radio Solent. "I don't live on the island but I just can't stop going.

"I've watched Newport at 152 different grounds over the last 20-odd years. I recorded the mileage one year and it was just over 10,000 miles... plus a lot of ferries."

The club said Mr Rushton, who works as head of fundraising for a national wheelchair sport charity, would be involved in the club's governance and supporter engagement.

Mr Rushton described the club as a "family", which had its own chaplain and collected for its local food bank.

"[We are also] looking to give free tickets to people in the [local] hospice... we want to take an active part [in the community] and help people."

Club chairman John Davies said Mr Rushton's "passion" for the club was well-known by its supporters.

"His knowledge of governance and supporter engagement will be invaluable as we move into a crucial period for the club," he said.

Newport IW FC hit the headlines in 2022, when 16-year-old Finn Smith became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the FA Cup.