Families affected by the Grenfell Tower fire plus those members of the emergency services that helped battle the blaze have been given free tickets by Brentford for their pre-season friendly against Southampton on Saturday.
After agreement between the two clubs, it was announced last month that profits from the match would be donated to a fund to help those affected by the fire, which took place last month about four miles from Brentford.
And the Bees have looked to put a smile on the faces of those suffering, at least for an afternoon, while paying tribute to the heroes that head towards danger while urging the public to get away.
Mark Devlin, Brentford FC Chief Executive, said: “The Grenfell Tower disaster is something that I, and probably most of us, thought could never happen.
“For it to happen to a community just a few miles from us, simply deepens the sense of sadness. Brentford is a football club deeply rooted in our community, and we want to show our support for all those affected.
“On Saturday, the football community will come together to help raise some much-needed funds and offer some respite to those families affected and for the wonderful staff of our emergency services, whom show much bravery, skill and humanity in these terrible circumstances.
“We look forward to welcoming everyone to Griffin Park on Saturday, and we hope that as many people as possible will be able to attend to help show our support and to raise funds for the Grenfell Tower residents and families.”
The club also confirmed their partners have been helping out with the donations.
Curtis Sport, the club’s official programme supplier, will be donating £1 from the special issue published for Saturday's game sold directly to the fund.
Advanced Ticketing, who operate the club’s ticketing website, have waived their fees from the first 500 online transactions for the match.
Carlsberg and Fullers have agreed to make a donation to the club to enable free drinks to be given to those invited guests, with one group coming with former Bees striker Jo Kuffour who is a youth worker in the area.
The Brentford Lifeline Society and MCH Coaches, who operate the coaches that take Bees supporters to away matches, are also supporting the residents’ visit by assisting with transport
The club’s half-time draw, Bees 50/50, will be raising funds for the cause with Brentford Community Sports Trust donating the share it normally receives to the Grenfell Tower effort.
The club has donated a special opportunity to be involved in the pre-season friendly against Celta Vigo.
One winner can be part of the pre-match meal and be around the squad on match day. Fans can enter at bees5050.com .
