Saidou Khan has been recognised and appreciated over the past few days on social media by a group of Spireites who wanted to show their love for the midfielder by setting up a Twitter page in support of the 26-year-old.
The Chesterfield Gambian Supporters’ Club is made up of a group of fans who follow the club home and away, who have enjoyed watching Khan play over the last year and decided to set up a supporters’ club in recognition of the Gambian midfielder.
The group wanted to recognise Khan’s place of birth and his home country through their support.
James Poxon, who is one of the fans behind the account, speaking on behalf of the group, said: “We have watched Saidou over the past year and he’s been excellent. We wanted to show our support to him and his country, so we got together and formed the supporters’ club.
“Gambia is obviously special to him, so we wanted to get behind him and his home country. It’s also about supporting his roots.
“He’s great, we think he’s a top-class player. He’s not scared to take anyone on and he always wants to get on the ball and drive with it. He’s forward-thinking in the way he plays.
“I hope we can keep him for next season as we really think he could be a big player for us.”
The group were captured by club photographer, Tina Jenner, with the Gambian national flag in the away end at FC Halifax Town, which Khan himself noticed and went over to the supporters during the full-time celebrations.
The group were excited when Khan noticed their flag. “He saw us in the crowd, and came over to thank us for our support,” said James. “He asked me if he could take the Gambia flag onto the pitch and I said ‘of course!’.
“It was good of him to come over to us. He messaged me after the game and was thankful. It was great.”
The supporters’ club are also looking to demonstrate their support for the player through sponsorship and said that they are excited about the future of their page, as they look to grow their social media presence and add to their group.
James said: “We’re trying to expand the page. It’s about Khan and Gambia but it’s also about the Blues! We’re also looking to sponsor his shirts for next season, which should be good.
“We all love Chesterfield, and we want to support the club. The more people we can get following us the more we can do in the future.”
Khan, who was born in Gambia before moving to England in 2010, spoke of his appreciation of the account.
He said: “The support is overwhelming; I always try to entertain the fans when I play and give my all to the team. I know the supporters like me but if I’m honest I didn’t think they loved me this much.
“The support at Chesterfield has been amazing since I arrived. I just wish we had given them the joy of celebrating promotion after all the effort they put in last season, backing us home and away. “
The supporters’ club also plan to expand their group and organise meet-ups in the future.
“We’re planning on having meet-ups for all the people who want to join us. The first one will be at the Matlock pre-season game, so keep your eyes peeled on our Twitter page for all the information around that.
“We want to get people together to have a laugh and a drink. It’ll be good for everyone.
“If people want to support the club, Gambia and Saidou Khan, then get in touch with us on Twitter and we can all get together and have a drink while supporting the Blues.”
Everyone at Chesterfield FC would like to thank the Chesterfield Gambian Supporters’ Club for their valued support.
You can follow them on Twitter here: @chesgambia
Founding members of the Chesterfield Gambian Supporters’ Club:
James Poxon
Tom Burr
Sam Bingham
Liam Jones
Adam Wallhead
Joe Keaveny
