Rochdale Football Club and Dale In The Community Sports Trust were delighted to welcome members of the Deeplish Ladies Health & Wellbeing Club to the Crown Oil Arena this week.
The group, which tackles loneliness and encourages social activity, meet weekly at Deeplish Community Centre.
They take part in armchair exercises, play games including cards, and enjoy food together afterwards.
Community Cohesion Officer Syed Ali, who attends the weekly club, brought the ladies to the Crown Oil Arena, where they enjoyed a tour of the ground before socialising in the 1907 Lounge.
“I’m originally from Deeplish, so when I first started in my role, it made absolute sense to go back to my roots,” explained Syed.
“I wanted to help the centre, because I know how much the centre has done for me growing up.
“At this moment in time, the ladies session is the only regular session they have. A lot of the women are housewives or widows who don’t get out of their own home much, so it’s a place to come together, talk and socialise.
“I’ve been going week in, week out, telling them about my role and the Football Club. Some of the women couldn’t tell you where the Football Club is based, so I wanted to bring them here and show them around.
“I was really proud to bring them here and they’re really happy to see the stadium, taking pictures and talking amongst themselves. Now they know where it is, know what it’s about and they know what we can do for them.
“The next step now is to bring them to a game!”