Crime writer becomes shirt sponsor for Raith Rovers

A Scottish football team are to be sponsored by a famous crime writer from next season.

Val McDermid, who wrote the novels that inspired the Wire In The Blood series, will be the main shirt sponsor for Raith Rovers in the Scottish Championship.

The writer is a lifelong fan of the club and already sponsors a stand at the Kirkcaldy club’s Stark’s Park stadium.

She has previously said her financial support for Raith is in honour of her father Jim, who was once a scout for the Fife club.

Former British prime minister Gordon Brown is another famous supporter of the club and encouraged McDermid to get involved when it was in financial difficulty around a decade ago.

The club said it is an honour to carry the name of her website - valmcdermid.com – on shirts next season.

Despite living in the North of England, the author is often spotted at Rovers matches, including their Scottish Cup quarter-final tie with St Johnstone in March.

With three of Scotland’s biggest clubs also competing with Rovers next season, McDermid hopes there will be extra exposure for the team.

She said: “The benefit has never been clearer than in this coming season.

“With the arrival of Rangers, Hibernian and Hearts in our division, there will be many more visitors to Stark’s Park.

“There will be massively more media interest, with photographers and TV cameras sending images of our ground and our players all round the world.”

McDermid’s main novels have been series based on the characters Lindsay Gordon, Kate Brannigan, Tony Hill and Carol Jordan.

The author hopes her sponsorship of the club will encourage other businesses to get involved.

Raith commercial director Tom Morgan said: “We are delighted to welcome Val on board.

“She has been a great supporter of the club and, when she was approached about the sponsorship, she knew it was a win-win situation for herself and the club.

“It is an honour for a provincial club like Raith Rovers to be involved with a world famous author.”