C&C doubles down on championing grassroots sport

Stockport-based C&C Insurance Brokers reflects on its support for grassroots sport following the recent achievements of Dom Hanson of Stockport Rugby Union FC, which the firm has backed since 2012.

The value and importance of supporting sport at a grassroots level could not have been brought into sharper focus this month than by looking at the achievements of Dom Hanson of Stockport Rugby Union FC.

To be fair, there are many reasons why companies should support any sport at a grassroots level. Not least because without the generous support of local, regional, and national businesses, it’s highly unlikely that clubs would even continue to exist. And generous is the right word, because, if we’re being brutally honest, quite often there’s little commercial argument for a business to support an U12s team with training tops and kit. Companies often do it out of goodwill and wanting to give back to clubs which themselves, add so much value to their members and local communities.

Value such as, introducing new opportunities for kids, keeping them active and fit, and building a sense of family and community amongst players (and parents!). Instilling and nurturing a sense of team spirit can be a powerful thing. That sense of a common cause can carry young minds through tough times, helping them build their resilience muscle. Something that as adults, we all know is so important in so many aspects of life.

So, yes, outside of the pure finance argument of supporting a club, there are all manner of intangible reasons for supporting grassroots sports.

But every now and then, a little bit of magic also happens – which brings us back to Dom.

C&C have supported Stockport Rugby Club since 2012, providing training tops for players and coaches, as well as contributing to kit. The left-hand image above shows C&C supporting an U12s Festival back in 2016. Dom Hanson is the young lad in the bottom left wearing the Stockport colours of red, white and green. He’s smiling because his team has just won the Festival trophy.

Fast forward to February 2025 and the image on the right is of Dom scoring a swan-dive of a try on his debut for the England U20s, in their Six Nations game against France! England won the match 27-10 (there’s a theme here with Dom, isn’t there), but the standout event; the thing that that caused a social media pile-on, was Dom’s try! You can see it here. It’s nothing short of spectacular!

Malcolm Cooke, MD of C&C Insurance Brokers said:

“Firstly, massive congratulations to Dom and his family on his achievements! Being selected to play for your country is an honour in itself. Scoring such an outstanding try on his debut. Just, wow. Is there any better way to announce yourself on the international stage? It’s essential – critical even – to support grassroots sports for all the reasons we’ve mentioned. But it’s easy to forget that, without grassroots sport, there will be no future talent. And it’s not that we do it for that reason, but it stands to reason that local and regional clubs are the nurseries for all the future household names, we don’t yet know.”

And it doesn’t stop there. Just one week later, Dom did the double, when he was selected for Sale Sharks Premiership Cup fixture against Newcastle Falcons. He came on as a replacement in the second half and yep, you’ve guessed it, Sale won!

From everyone here at C&C Insurance Brokers, many, many congratulations Dom on your magnificent achievements so far. You can be rightly proud of yourself and we look forward to watching your career develop and your successes mount.