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Harrogate Town decide against open top bus parade following Wembley success

Harrogate Town will not be holding an open top bus parade following their FA Trophy success at Wembley last week.

Harrogate Town will not be holding an open top bus parade following their FA Trophy success at Wembley last week. Town beat Concord Rangers 1-0 at Wembley Stadium to clinch the FA Trophy - making history as the first football league club to win the competition. However the club have decided against parading the trophy around Harrogate due to "unwarranted criticism" received after their previous Wembley triumph last year. [caption id="attachment_1688" align="aligncenter" width="1942"] Harrogate Town were criticised for their open top bus parade last year despite adhering to Covid-19 guidelines (photo: TownPix)[/caption] Harrogate-based bus firm Transdev had offered their services for a parade, but the club have declined and hope fans will "understand and appreciate" the decision. The club released the following statement via its website:

"Our recent FA Trophy success at Wembley sparked instant support from Transdev for an open top bus parade, however after very careful consideration we have decided not to indulge in a parade on the following grounds. "Due to lockdowns in 2020 the players only had a two week break before embarking on pre-season training in preparation for our first EFL campaign. In effect they have played back to back seasons and after the match against Cheltenham they will be going their various ways for well-earned planned family breaks. "Despite our socially distanced and Covid-19 compliant parade after the Promotion Final last August, the club came under unwarranted criticism from some elements of the media and we are guarded against similar criticism as we all emerge from the latest lockdown. "We sincerely hope our loyal supporters understand and appreciate our decision not to hold a parade and we will plan how to engage with the town during the close season in preparation for a return to crowds in the very near future. "In closing we would like to thank our friends at Transdev for their kind offer of an open top bus parade."
Read more local stories from Your Harrogate here.

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