Rio takes the strain out of making tea!

MANCHESTER United and England defender Rio Ferdinand unveiled Chadderton FC’s £40,000 transformation.


The Vodkat North-West Counties League Division One outfit were chosen from a list of more than 700 clubs to receive the cash from energy company and FA Cup sponsor E.ON, with judges deciding they were worthy recipients of an energy-efficient makeover.

Three Lions skipper Ferdinand popped in to mark the start of a new era at Chadderton, with a new water heater system and boiler and improved lighting and thermostatic controls.

Members of Paul Buckley’s squad can look forward to the kind of hot showers Ferdinand and his team-mates have enjoyed for years.

More hot drinks on match day are expected to fetch around £2,000 a year.

Ferdinand, football ambassador for E.ON’s Energy Fit campaign, said: “Clubs like Chadderton, at the heart of local communities, are struggling to make ends meet due to ever-increasing running costs.

“But as you can see from the work carried out here, even by introducing some simple measures clubs can start to use their energy more wisely and save money.”