The fan friendship between Fortuna Dusseldorf and Ipswich Town continues to deepen – with yet another generous donation to the Kevin Beattie statue fund.
Supporters from both clubs got the chance to meet up at the recent Interwetten Cup tournament in Meppen, Germany.
Around 20 Town fans joined 60 Fortuna fans on their coach trip from the Paul Janes stadium to Meppen.
Among the Blues fans on board were Tim Edwards, Ipswich Town Heritage Society partner, and wife Liz, also a partner with the heritage society and a director of Ipswich Town PLC.
Tim said: "On the way, trip organiser Ulli Munsterberg made an important announcement. He had over-estimated the cost of the coach - even after all the expenses and a bootful of various German beers had been accounted for, there was around five Euros per person left over.
"He proposed that this be donated to The Beat Goes On statue campaign. Explaining that this was not just because of their relationship with Town fans, but because The Beat was so welcoming to them, every time they came over.
"They feel his loss just as we do.
"Everyone agreed to make the donation, and Fortuna Blues topped it up with a further donation from their own funds, making another £500 for the campaign.
"And this is on top of their £600 collection during their January visit."
Fortuna fan Friedrich Schacht said: "It is great that we also have a chance to make a contribution to the statue - so, when we come to Ipswich, we can all look at it and know that we played our part."
Fortuna Blues are due to visit the club on January 11, during the German season's winter break, for the visit of Accrington Stanley.
The campaign, run by the EADT/Ipswich Star in conjunction with BBC Radio Suffolk and the TWTD website, is called 'The Beat Goes On', and is raising money for a statue of Beattie in the Portman Road area.
The appeal target is around £110,000, and we now have less than £25,000 before we reach the goal.
Send cheques made payable to 'The Beat Goes On' to Kevin Beattie Statue Appeal, EADT, Portman House, 120 Princes Street, Ipswich, IP11RS
Or visit the online donation page.
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