The first Blue Family 'Fan Friday' event last week was a big success with supporters from all four corners of the globe tuning in to watch 1995 Everton FA Cup heroes Paul Rideout and Graham Stuart.
The pair – who collaborated for the only goal of the final at Wembley against Manchester United – joined host Darren Griffiths for a group Zoom call with fans, who had earlier registered for the chance to take part.
The Fan Friday events form part of Everton’s increased Blue Family activity following the announcement of a new national lockdown – and help keep supporters connected with the Club they love during this difficult time.
During our first group call, Stuart and Rideout reminisced about the pre-match build-up to the '95 final, the game itself and the subsequent celebrations.
“We took the Cup into Burger King on the way back from London,” revealed Stuart. “I don’t think that will ever happen again!”
Rideout, who joined the event from his home in Phoenix, Arizona, added: “I made the mistake of sitting next to Anders Limpar at the evening banquet. He didn’t drink at all, but he had a few that night and was the first one to go to bed!”
It had been a Paul Rideout goal against Ipswich Town 11 days before the Cup final that had secured Everton’s Premier League status after a challenging campaign and his reward was to sit out the last league match of the season at Coventry City – a luxury not afforded to Graham Stuart.
“Every time you wear that royal blue jersey you want to give your all," said Stuart. "But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about not getting injured in that game!"
Details about our next Blue Family Fan Friday event will be announced on evertonfc.com and social media later this week.
Blue Family was launched in March 2020 to provide vital assistance to some of the most vulnerable and socially isolated members of the community during the coronavirus pandemic.
The campaign has supported more than 27,000 vulnerable and at-risk families, made almost 25,000 check-in and welfare calls, delivered in excess of 14,000 emergency food parcels and provided more than 250,000 meals for school children, participants and local residents.
The expansion of activity will include increased outbound calls to fans and additional support to deal with an increase in referrals for people in need.
The Club will also offer bespoke online content for supporters across the world. The Blue Family section of the official Everton website is home to a wealth of online content to support home learning, fan wellbeing and remote supporter interaction.
Click here to read more about the Club's increased Blue Family efforts or donate to the campaign by clicking here.
