Simon Ferry and Open Goal to end partnership with Broomhill FC after year at Lowland League club

Scottish Lowland League side Broomhill FC and football media platform Open Goal are ending their partnership, with manager Simon Ferry leaving his post as manager.

Ferry was announced as manager of the club last May with the club being renamed as ‘Open Goal Broomhill FC’ from the start of the new season, and plans announced for social media content and programming centred on the team.

The partnership was hailed by both parties as “revolutionary” and “the beginning of a new era for the club and lower league football”.

Less than a year on, the club has announced that Ferry and his coaching staff Derek Lyle and Paul Slane will be stepping down and that the end of the season will also see the conclusion of the commercial partnership with Open Goal.

A club statement celebrated the achievements of the partnership, highlighting record attendances and a run to the third round of the Scottish Cup, where the side was narrowly beaten by League 1 side Alloa Athletic.

Broomhill also saw an increase in revenue following a wave of social media interaction based on the Open Goal link.

Open Goal Broomhill FC general manager George Fraser said: “Firstly I’d like to thank the manager Simon Ferry and his staff for their efforts this season. The excitement of the Scottish Cup campaign will live long in the memory and his team of players have created some amazing moments for fans to enjoy, particularly our Friday night games under the lights at Broadwood.

“The project with Open Goal has been an amazing success for us off the pitch and has been crucial in our mission to build and enhance an engaged and passionate community around our club which this partnership has achieved beyond our wildest expectations.

“The growth in our online presence has been remarkable and will be extremely valuable to the club’s development going forward. To give context, we as a Lowland League club have a higher combined following on platforms such as Twitter and Instagram compared to some Scottish Premiership-elect sides which proves the power of the project.

“We are a young club which has only been operating for ten years and so this type of innovative idea was exactly what we needed in our journey in building the club’s fanbase both online and offline. It now gives us a fantastic platform to grow the club further both commercially and from a community point-of-view which we aim to reinvest back into a successful football team.

“There are plenty of exciting times ahead for Broomhill FC and we’d like to thank Open Goal for their contribution this year and wish both them and Simon Ferry all the best in the future.”

Manager Ferry, whose side are currently in 11th place in the Lowland League table with five games to go, said: “My first year in management has been an invaluable experience and one I will take a lot of learnings from going forward.

“It’s been fantastic to work with this group of players and see how much they’ve developed this season. They’ve given me everything including showing their impressive level of character and ability particularly in our Scottish Cup campaign this season.

“I’m confident many of them will go on to progress their careers further following the year we’ve had together.”