Programmes cost £2.00 each with all money going to the BerkoAstro project. If you buy a programme online you will be charged £2.58 to cover the extra cost of postage and paypal fees.

Or why not pop along to East woods Butcherson Gravel Path, Berkhamsted, or Westons Fish Bar, Boxmoor in Hemel Hempstead who are both kindly stocking this programme for us.

You can also grab a copy from 9am – 4pm at the Hardings Concrete Offices, Little Heath Lane, Potten End, 01442 863234.

You can support your favourite player on the right of this page, click their name, and sponsor me.

If your a Watford or Arsenal fan why not sponsor Luther or Don and leave them a message of encouragement for the game.

So far the team players have raised £1900 towards the BerkoAstro project. Well done lads!!

I look forward to seeing you all there.

James Shapland
Head of Ashlyns School

The Arsenal squad list is

“WE REGRET THAT WE CAN NEVER GURANTEE THE APPEARANCE OF A PARTICULAR PLAYER

WE APOLOGISE IF THIS CAUSES ANY DISAPPOINTMENT, BUT WE STILL HOPE YOU WILL ENJOY THE EVENT AND THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING A WORTHWHILE CHARITY”

Waitrose in Berkhamsted very kindly agreed to let us organise teams to help in both the morning and afternoon with Barclays also kindly matching some of the funds raised.

We will therefore have raised a further £1523.50 in total.

Back in November 2009 all budding artists, cartoonists and creative people were called upon to design a new mascot for the BerkoAstro project.

The face of a £1.3million fundraising drive for a new football pitch has been chosen – the grass-themed cartoon character Astro-Vert. Budding cartoonists from across Berkhamsted have been busy coming up with ideas for the BerkoAstro mascot competition. The competition judges were impressed with the high quality entries in all sections – both in terms of the wonderful drawings and the clever and original choice of some of the names etc.

Overall winner and 10-13 category – Cally Fairweather, 10yrs from Thomas Coram School
5-9 category – Arran Shanghavi, 6yrs from Victoria School
13+ category – Hilary Gardener

Cally Fairweather, 10, of Bingham Close, Hemel Hempstead, who attends Thomas Coram School won with her drawing of the cartoon, which will now be made into a life-size mascot and will represent the Raiders FC’s and Ashlyns School’s campaign to raise enough cash to build the pitch at the school next year..

Cally’s mother Claire Fairweather she: “This is absolutely wonderful news. Cally is overjoyed to win the entire competition. “She came up with the idea when she and I were in the car on our way to visit her grandad. “The minute she thought of a blade of grass she decided there and then that it was the best thing to have as her entry. She must have had a sixth sense.”

Treasurer Dave Pearson was the hero of the night grabbing the one-nil winner at the home of the Comrades.

Most importantly that match raised a fantastic £1,650 towards the BerkoAstro project.

Celebrities will be flocking to Berkhamsted after it was chosen to host an Arsenal Supporters Club’s charity football match.

The likes of Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley, the Royle Family’s Ralf Little and cricketer Mark Ramprakash are among the celebs who will don on football kits to raise money for a £1.3million football pitch in Berkhamsted on March 21, 2010.

Joining them on Ashlyns School’s playing fields will be the former EastEnders star Phil Daniels, who starred in Blur’s famous Park Life video, former world champion boxer Terry Marsh and Ground Force’s Tommy Walsh.

On the day 70 per cent of the cash raised will go to the BerkoAstro campaign, which is an Ashlyns School and Raiders FC project to build a football pitch and changing block for the community.

The pitch will be named after Nick Walsh- a former Ashlyns student who died of a brain haemorrhage in 2007.

The remaining 30 per cent will go to the Arsenal Charitable Trust which supports causes such as Great Ormond Street.

Chairman of the supporters club Ben Roberts, who lives in Potten End, said: “We are supporting BerkoAstro because my brother is a student at Ashlyns and in honour of Nick Walsh.

“He was an Arsenal fan and we have been following the story through The Gazette and wanted to support it in his honour as well as it meaning Berkhamsted could get a great new facility.”

The event, dubbed the Footie Fest, will be BerkoAstro’s biggest fundraiser.

On the day lots of mini football matches will be held including a parents versus children, keepy-uppy competitions and beat the celeb goalie.

A trade village will be set up with a whole host of stalls complete with food and drink.

Ashlyns School Governor Jacky Webby said: “We were delighted when Arsenal Herts & Beds Supporters Club approached us with the idea for the match.

“We hope the event will excite the community and help rally support for our project. We want Ashlyns to be at the heart of the community and for the public to see this great venture with Raiders as something we must all pull together on to make a reality.”

From now until the day the BerkoAstro team will be looking for companies in the Dacorum area to sponsor the event to help raise as much money as possible.

Businesses will be able to sponsor one of their employees to pitch their skills against the celebs and former Arsenal players, such as Perry Groves, in the main game. Teams and the match ball can also by sponsored.

Although dozens of celebs have committed to the event, their busy schedules mean the final squad line-up could change.

Nows your chance ahead of this fabulous event. THE MATCH!!